Sean Strickland announced himself as a true player at middleweight by putting on a dominant display to beat Jack Hermansson over five rounds at UFC Vegas 47.
The 30-year-old doesn’t seem to have done enough to earn a shot at the middleweight title which will be on the line when Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker rematch at UFC 271 next weekend. The winner of Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson will most likely get the next shot at the 185lb strap.
So, talk now turns to who Strickland should face next. A fight with #2 ranked Marvin Vettori is certainly one that would appeal to the fans but it doesn’t appeal to Strickland who explained why during the UFC Vegas 47 post-fight press conference.
“Marvin Vettori, he’s a good buddy of mine,” Strickland said. “I actually helped him train for (Paulo) Costa and Jack (Hermansson). So, I was his main training partner. That’s a fight I wouldn’t want to fight.
Strickland explained that he was offered a ton of money to fight Vettori on short notice when Paulo Costa came in severely overweight for their fight at UFC Vegas 41.
“When Costa drank too much wine and cookies, they offered me a lot of money to take his fight (against Vettori) on a days’ notice,” Strickland claimed. “I called Marvin and I was like, ‘Marvin, they’re offering me a lot of f*cking money. Like, I have to say yes.’ Marvin being a good friend, he was like, ‘Dude, yes. I can’t blame you for saying yes.’ So, (in) that situation I said yes but if it’s just for what I’m making I would rather bow my head. I’ll let Marvin get another title shot before I fight him.”
Current Middleweight Rankings
Champ: Israel Adesanya
#1 Robert Whittaker
#2 Marvin Vettori
#3 Jared Cannonier
#4 Derek Brunson
#5 Paulo Costa
#6 Jack Hermansson
#7 Sean Strickland
#8 Darren Till
#9 Uriah Hall
#10 Kelvin Gastelum