“No guns.. no freedom of speech” - Sean Strickland seemingly upset with UFC over location choice for first title defense
Sean Strickland's next championship bout has been announced, and he does not seem happy with the location.
The champion, who captured gold in September over now number-one ranked 185-pounder Israel Adesanya, looks to make his first title defense in January. The opponent for that bout is the number two ranked contender, Dricus Du Plessis.
This card is reportedly set for January 20 at UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The nation in which this headline attraction is taking place did not seem to sit well with the reigning UFC titleholder.
By way of his personal X page, @SStricklandMMA said:
"Why Canada?!?! GSP you do this bs?! No guns, no freedom of speech.. UFC you fucking with me?!?!"
See Strickland's tweet about the great fight north below
Sean Strickland's First Title Defense Announced
Sean Strickland's first 185-pound title defense was announced along with a pair of prizefights for the first quarter of 2024. They represent an impactful way to kick off the next calendar year.
UFC CEO Dana White dropped the news, and the ripple effect across combat sports social media has been pronounced.
Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight strap against the number five ranked 145-pounder in the company, Ilia Topuria, at UFC 298 in February.
Sean O'Malley will have a rematch against Chito Vera in March for UFC 299. However, on this occasion, the bantamweight title will be on the line as the former looks to even up the series over the 1-0 Vera.
Strickland is now riding a three-fight winning streak after rebounding from his only losses at middleweight, a pair of defeats to Alex Pereira via KO and Jared Cannonier via split decision, respectively.
Before the aforementioned Adesanya win by way of a unanimous decision, Sean Strickland bested Nassourdine Imavov with another UD and Abus Magomedov via second-round TKO.
Du Plessis is entering the octagon in early 2024, riding an eight-fight winning streak following a failed bid for the KSW welterweight title in October 2018. He debuted in the UFC over three years ago and has recently collected wins over Darren Till, Derek Brunson, and Robert Whittaker.