Why Sean Strickland deserves one more title shot

Sean Strickland has lost his last two middleweight title fights, but that shouldn’t stop UFC president Dana White from giving him one more crack at the belt he briefly held. 

Current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and No. 3 contender Khamzat Chimaev will battle for the belt on Saturday at UFC 319, and Strickland, the No. 2 contender, should top the list of White’s options for the next challenger.

On paper, No. 1 middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov is next in line for a title shot. However, Strickland has the edge on him. While Imavov has left an impressive list of middleweights in his rise to No. 1 — specifically, Israel Adesanya, Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier, and Roman Dolidze — that run came after a loss to Strickland (and a no-contest against Strickland’s pal Chris Curtis).

Strickland has a great case against whoever walks away from UFC 319 with the middleweight belt:

If Du Plessis wins

Sure, Strickland has lost to Du Plessis twice. But it’s not as simple as that. Strickland has taken Du Plessis to the final bell twice, something that only one other fighter — Brad Tavares at UFC 276 — has been able to do during the South African’s nine-fight UFC career.

Plus, the first matchup between the two fighters was a controversial split decision, one that some experts felt should have gone Strickland’s way. Du Plessis put that fight behind him with a dominant win over Strickland at UFC 312. Still, a trilogy fight giving Strickland one final run at Du Plessis is a matchup the UFC can sell.

If Chimaev wins

Should Chimaev claim the belt on Saturday, a following fight against Strickland makes perfect sense. The two fighters have been beefing for ages, and fans would certainly enjoy watching them settle their differences in the octagon.

Both Strickland and Chimaev have taken shots at each other, even as they prepared to face Du Plessis. During a pre-fight conference ahead of UFC 312, Strickland went off on a viral rant about Chimaev’s life choices. For his part, Chimaev recently expressed confusion over Strickland’s dislike of him and indicated he’s happy to fight the former champion next.

Chimaev has long made it clear that he fights for one thing: money. If he wins on Saturday, a fight against a brash rival in Strickland should generate more money than a bout against the lower-profile Imavov.

Strickland may have to earn his next shot at the belt with a title eliminator against either Imavov or the rapidly rising Reinier De Ridder. And if Strickland can take down either of those guys, he’ll be the obvious choice for the next middleweight championship fight.