Wish Granted! Strickland Gets Next Middleweight Title Shot

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Sean Strickland appears to be getting his wish.

2024 didn’t start as Strickland hoped it would, losing his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight crown in his first defense opposite South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. The split decision loss (watch highlights) led Strickland to a split decision rebound win over Paulo Costa at UFC 303 this past June 2024.

After the win, Strickland insisted he’ll wait for his second shot at UFC gold no matter what. UFC CEO, Dana White, has now confirmed that’s the current plan. Strickland will rematch the winner of UFC 305’s main event between du Plessis and Israel Adesanya this weekend (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024).

“Sean Strickland right now is the No. 1-ranked Middleweight in the world and the answer is yes,” White told Jim Rome.

White’s plan comes as a bit of a surprise with the recently announced rebooking of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzt Chimaev at UFC 308 in October 2024. That match up was originally supposed to happen at UFC Saudi Arabia in June 2024. Unfortunately, illness forced Chimaev out of action, leading Whittaker to an impressive first round knockout of Ikram Aliskerov (watch highlights).

Chimaev is all better (for now), according to White.

“Chimaev should be ranked top 5 but he’s been inactive,” White said. “He’s good [health-wise]. Leading up to this fight right now, he’s good. Oct. 26, he is the co-main event.

“That should be a fun fight,” he continued. “Again, knock on wood that everybody makes it to Abu Dhabi.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 305 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 305: “Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 305 fight card and PPV lineup click here.