How long can Sean Strickland rule the middleweight division?
Sean Strickland is the UFC middleweight champion. That is not a sentence I ever expected to write. It comes as even more of a surprise as he was tasked to defeat middleweight legend Israel Adesanya. Nonetheless, Strickland is a UFC champion. Now, it is time to discuss how long he can rule the UFC middleweight division.
The Big Three
Strickland’s title reign will start with three obvious contenders. At the moment, it looks like his first title defense will be a rematch. UFC President Dana White has stated that he wants to book an immediate rematch. Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus Du Plessis should be in the title conversation as well.
It is painfully difficult to project how a Strickland and Adesanya rematch would play out. I would not be shocked if either fighter was victorious. Strickland just proved he can beat Adesanya. At the same time, it is not unreasonable to believe Adesanya could make the adjustments needed to win.
Khamzat Chimaev is fighting Paulo Costa at UFC 293. If Chimaev gets a victory, he will be in line to fight for the title; it appears to be a solid matchup for Chimaev. If Chimaev can out-grapple Costa, I could see him doing the same against Strickland.
Du Plessis has earned a title shot with a win over Robert Whittaker. A Strickland and Du Plessis matchup is widely entertaining. It is evident that neither fighter is the type of person to back down from a fight. I’d lean toward Du Plessis, but would have a solid chance to win that bout.
A reminder of the division
Outside of the top three contenders, it can be a challenger to predict which fighters can work their way to a title mainly because these fighters will be forced to fight one another to earn a title shot. In addition, they are all at relatively interesting or unique points in their career.
The remainder of the UFC middleweight division includes Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze, among others.
I could see a few of these fighters beating Strickland. Cannonier has already done it. Whittaker certainly has the skills to do it. Costa, Vettori and Dolidze all have some strengths that could be beneficial in a bout against Strickland, but there are reasons to doubt those fighters as well.
The Verdict
I am unfortunately going to play spoiler for everyone who is excited for the UFC’s newest champion: It is hard to envision a lengthy title reign for Strickland. I see a lot of fighters that have the skills to beat him and a lot of fighters that I would pick against.
In my eyes, the best possible outcome for Strickland is one title defense. I could see him beating Adesanya again. At UFC 293, Adesanya did not impress and it is entirely possible he will drop his next fight. It is hard to see much outside of that, however. I would pick against Strickland in bouts against Chimaev and Du Plessis.
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