Strickland had an eight-fight stint at welterweight from 2015-2018, but returned to middleweight in 2020 after a two-year motorcycle accident-related layoff. He upset Israel Adesanya to win the title in 2023, but lost it to Du Plessis a little more than a year ago. The champ said he thinks Strickland never has been a worthy title challenger.

Sean Strickland ‘s attempt at becoming a two-time UFC middleweight champion fell short in the UFC 312 headliner. After five rounds of a largely dominant showing by Dricus du Plessis, Strickland lost by unanimous decision to drop to 0-2 against the current middleweight titleholder.

Nicksick even went on to lambast Strickland for not backing up his own trash talk, which Sean has been dishing out for years to anyone and everyone. "Just to kind of show up and d

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has criticized Sean Strickland's display at UFC 312, and said his time as a middleweight contender should now be over.