The current UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, currently seems to be in a dilemma about his next rival. The UFC authorities may have promoted the former middleweight king, Israel Adesanya, as Du Plessis’s next rival. But a large chunk of the MMA community thought that Sean Strickland had beaten ‘Stillknocks’ at UFC 297 and wanted a rematch. This is why the South African champion took to his ‘X’ account and left the selection of his next rival to the fans.
This year may have begun with the UFC middleweight title changing hands once more. But even two noted UFC personas differed in their judgment of the fight. The UFC head honcho, Dana White, opined that ‘Tarzan’ was the real victor of the UFC 297 main event. While the noted play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik, took Du Plessis’ and the judges’ side.
The dilemma is probably why Du Plessis’s update received an insane 1.2M views. It read:
“Since this is a spectator sport. What do you guys think? @SStricklandMMA or @stylebender
Just for the record, it makes absolutely no difference to me, the result will be the same.”
Quite expected, there was a flood of comments on ‘Stillknocks’s’ update. One of the fans also created a poll to help the South African.
But the above poll and the comments section of Du Plessis’ post showcased a similar scenario. The majority of fans were desiring to watch Du Plessis locking horns with Strickland once more.
One such fan wrote, “Sean deserves the rematch more imo”
Another one commented, “Sean Strickland, the people’s champ”
Another fan expressed the same choice, writing, “Sean Strickland rematch first, than Israel if you win”
However, several fans may be shocked to witness that even Strickland presented his case in the comments section himself. ‘Tarzan’s’ comment read,
“Here’s the thing…. Dana himself said I won. The numbers said I won… Let’s settle this… I respected you before. I’ve respected you after, but this needs to be settled once and for all”
Well, the UFC CEO, Dana White, has stated multiple times that they give the fans what they want. If he stands by his words, the Strickland should have his desired rematch against ‘Stillknocks’. But recent incidents also indicate that he might get into a different sport as well.
Will Sean Strickland get into the boxing ring ditching the Dricus Du Plessis rematch?
Most fans may know about the controversial sparring session between the internet celebrity, ‘The Sneako’ and ‘Strickland’. This is why the noted YouTuber-boxer, Jake Paul, derided ‘Tarzan’ after videos from the session went viral.
Well, Strickland wasn’t going to take all of those words from Paul without a response. He posted two updates to showcase that he was ready to fight Paul anytime and anywhere. However, the fight can only happen if Dana White allows Strickland.
So, even if Strickland fights Paul, it won’t mean that he can’t return to the UFC and take on Du Plessis for his next encounter. UFC fans may be hoping to watch the fight as soon as possible. But both ‘Izzy’ and ‘Paul’ can be huge factors in delaying his touted encounter against Du Plessis.
