At UFC 312, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland faced Dricus Du Plessis in a highly anticipated rematch. The bout concluded with Strickland suffering a unanimous decision loss, a performance that has since been the subject of extensive criticism within the mixed martial arts community. Analyst and veteran coach Din Thomas did not mince words in his assessment of Strickland’s performance. Expressing frustration during the UFC 312 post-fight show, Thomas remarked, “We just have to admit it now—Sean Strickland is not who he says he is.” 

Strickland’s former coach Eric Nicksick also echoed the same sentiments and criticized his student for his performance. Lack of initiative, a broken nose, and the ultimate failure to get the gold back around his waist was all Strickland could manage in his last performance. However, it seems not everyone is a critic of the former middleweight champion. Michael Jai White is pretty impressed with the way ‘Tarzan’ carries himself inside the Octagon mostly after his fights. The 47-year-old legend definitely knows a few things about fighting and getting praised by him will definitely help Strickland regain his confidence.

White recently sat down for a chat with DJ Vlad on his YouTube channel to share his honest opinion about the fighter. He said, “You got Sean Strickland. Sean Strickland, that guy can focus. That is a personality. That’s somebody you just can identify with, love him or hate him—you got to respect just how he is as a man, a human being. It’s just like they don’t make people like that very much. And you know, so with him you know what you’re getting. And he’s got great work ethic. He is what he is, but man on fight day, that dude gives a 100 percent and gives credit to those who beat him. Just in such an honorable f—–g dude, right?” 

It will be interesting to see how Strickland recovers from the amount of criticism he has faced from the fans and experts. The former middleweight champion has already started making changes to his camp. He has made it clear that Eric Nicksick won’t be a part of his camp anymore after criticizing him openly. However, the big question is who will he be facing next in order to get back to winning ways? It seems there’s one fighter who is looking forward to face him and that’s Robert Whittaker.

Sean Strickland is who Robert Whittaker wants next in his career

In the dynamic landscape of the UFC’s middleweight division, Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland are two of the biggest stars. However, they have recently encountered significant setbacks, prompting discussions about their future trajectories. Whittaker lost a very important fight to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in the first round itself.

On the other hand, ‘Tarzan’ failed to win back his belt in the recently concluded UFC 312. So, who should both these two fighters face next in the division? Well, fighting each other might just be the right choice at the moment, feels ‘The Reaper’. Strickland took out time to comment on Whittaker’s performance at UFC 308 and said, “Rob is known to either be a f—–g superstar or a f—–g can, and he was a f—–g can (against Chimaev).” 

Now Whittaker is gearing up to make his return to the Octagon, ready to reclaim his position among the middleweight elite. In a recent interview, the former champion didn’t mince words—he sees a fight with Sean Strickland as an inevitability. And to make things even more interesting, Whittaker is giving Strickland a four-month notice period.

He shared the details during a conversation with Anthony Smith on the On Paper podcast, which was later shared on Instagram by Championship Rounds. The former champion said, “I think Strickland makes a good argument to have because I feel like we’ve both been in that top sort of pond for a while, circling each other. I feel like, for whatever reason, we haven’t been matched up, but we’ve both been in proximity for a while. It’s most likely the fight to make.” 

Do you think Robert Whittaker vs Sean Strickland is the fight to make next in the division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.