Sean Strickland blames bizarre reason for not getting title rematch against Dricus du Plessis
Sean Strickland recently opened up about his upcoming fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and revealed why he thinks he didn't get an immediate title rematch against Dricus du Plessis instead. Strickland seemingly blamed "analytics" for not getting booked against du Plessis and explained his bizarre statement.
'Stillknocks' challenged Strickland for the middleweight title at UFC 297 in January, and the two men went to war for five rounds. While many thought Strickland deserved to get his hand raised, du Plessis ultimately won the fight via split decision and took home the 185-pound strap.
Given that the fight was a razor-sharp contest that had fans on the edge of their seats, Strickland was expected to get an immediate rematch to redeem himself. However, the promotion decided against such a thing and booked 'Tarzan' against Costa.
At the UFC 302 media day event, Strickland was asked why he wasn't fighting du Plessis in a rematch for the middleweight belt. Blaming "dorks behind computers," he replied:
"Let me tell you about these f**king dorks behind computers. It's all analytics. They think they'll make more money with somebody else. I don't get it... I don't know man, those f**ing dorks behind the computer, they going to let me fight the guy? I deserve that s**t; come on, guys."
Coach Eric Nicksick on potential Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland rematch
Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick recently shared his thoughts on a potential Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland rematch. The veteran MMA trainer believes that if Strickland beats Paulo Costa convincingly at UFC 302 this weekend, the California native could insert himself into the title picture again.
In a conversation with 'The Schmo,' Nicksick recalled his star pupil's first fight against the South African fighter and stated that there was a good case to be made for an immediate rematch. He continued:
"Absolutely. That's the way I feel. I think that you can make an argument for Sean to have that immediate rematch. The way the kind of landscape is with the middleweight division, I think Sean gets a good win, especially emphatically, I think it puts him right back in the title picture."
Catch Eric Nicksick's comments below (1:16):
While Strickland has his next assignment in front of him, du Plessis has been angling for a grudge match against Israel Adesanya and has expressed an interest in facing Khamzat Chimaev before moving up to the 205-pound division.