Sean Strickland reacts to securing title shot against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312: "Time to bring some Violence"
Sean Strickland reacted to the official announcement of his world title rematch.
On Jan. 20, Strickland's UFC middleweight title reign ended without a defense. The American fan favorite lost a close split decision against now-world champion Dricus du Plessis, which was determined by a thin margin.
Strickland returned to the octagon in June and defeated Paulo Costa by split decision. The UFC rewarded Strickland with an opportunity to regain the 185-pound title and avenge his loss against Du Plessis, scheduled for the UFC 312 main event on Feb. 8, 2025.
Strickland had this to say on Instagram about his upcoming fight:
"Time to bring some Violence and Freedom to Australia once more! 👊 🇺🇸🇦🇺 Deny Depose Defend 💪"
Strickland also had a similar reaction on X:
"Time to bring back from freedom to Australia. Deny Depose Defend.. No idea where this sayig is from or who said it but I like. Real catchy..... but no idea.."
Du Plessis fought once since his title-winning performance against Strickland. The UFC middleweight world champion defended his throne for the first time with a fourth-round submission against Israel Adesanya in August.
Dana White shuts down media question about Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland
On October 26, Khamzat Chimaev showcased a masterclass performance at UFC 308, defeating former champion Robert Whittaker by first-round submission. Chimaev was temporarily in the conversation to receive the middleweight title shot instead of Sean Strickland.
Following UFC 310, Dana White participated in a post-event press conference and discussed various topics. One reporter asked white the following question:
"How close was Khamzat [Chimaev] to getting the title shot against DDP in Australia?"
White wasn't happy with the question and responded by saying:
"How close was it? Guys, what are you f*cking, is this stupid question night? He's not next. How close was he? I don't know. We sit in a room every Tuesday and we pick fights. [Chimaev] is always in the conversation [for a title shot]."
Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 will take place inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The co-main event features Tatiana Suarez attempting to dethrone Zhang Weili in a women's strawweight world title fight.
Watch Dana White shut down a media member regarding the next middleweight title shot below: