Dana White and the UFC recently announced that the UFC 305 main event will see Dricus du Plessis defending his UFC Middleweight Championship against top contender Israel Adesanya. Although this will likely be a great and unpredictable fight, it is not the best look on the UFC considering that there is someone more deserving of a title shot than Izzy.
That someone is none other than former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland. Strickland won the Middleweight Championship from Adesanya at UFC 293 before losing it to du Plessis at UFC 297.
Many believe that Strickland should’ve been granted a title shot over Izzy given the history between them. Adesanya’s shot for the title is being labeled “undeserved”.
Strickland Defeated Both
One of the main reasons fans believe that Sean Strickland should get the next title shot is because he arguably defeated both du Plessis and Adesanya in his last two fights.
At UFC 293, Strickland pulled off an upset as he destroyed Adesanya for 25 straight minutes. It was an absolute destruction that no one expected, turning Strickland into the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
His first defense was at UFC 297 against du Plessis. Strickland ended up losing to du Plessis via split decision. But many fans believe that he did enough to defend his title and that du Plessis shouldn’t have won that fight.
Considering that Strickland destroyed Adesanya in their fight and arguably defeated du Plessis in their bout as well, it seems pretty clear as to why he should’ve gotten the next title shot.
Adesanya’s Title Rematch Was Already Granted
One of the main reasons fans have for justifying Adesanya’s title shot is his dominance in the middleweight division when he held that title. However, many seem to not realize that after he lost the title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281, he already got his rematch at UFC 287, which he won.
He then went on to lose to Strickland in his next fight at UFC 293. This argument doesn’t necessarily make sense because he won the title, then immediately lost it with no defenses. There shouldn’t have been an immediate rematch clause for Izzy after losing his title the second time.
If anything, this just goes to show more why Adesanya doesn’t deserve a UFC Middleweight Championship shot. He’s 1-2 in his last three fights after losing to Pereira and Strickland. If Adesanya had fought sometime in early 2024 and gotten a win over a respectable opponent, then it wouldn’t be considered undeserved by fans as it is now.
The No. 1 Contender
To be fair, the same argument made for Adesanya could also be made for Strickland. Strickland didn’t have a single successful defense after his title win, so why should he get an immediate rematch against du Pressis?
That wouldn’t be the case for Sean. He already has won another fight after his matchup with Strickland. He defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302 via decision. That win has kept Strickland at the No. 1 contender spot where he rightfully deserves to be.
Because Strickland was willing to put his top contender spot on the line against an opponent like Costa, he definitely should’ve been next in line. It’s clear that the UFC has made this Adesanya-Dricus fight because they likely believe that it would sell more. That’s the most important point to them since it is a business.
Even though Strickland didn’t get his rightfully earned championship shot, it seems certain that he will take on the winner of this UFC 305 fight.
About The Author
Shayan Malik has always been an avid fan of sports. He is currently studying sports communication, as he is hoping to take his sports knowledge to the next level. He enjoys writing about combat sports such as MMA, wrestling, and boxing.
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