Sean Strickland, despite his loss to Dricus du Plessis earlier this year, still sees potential matchups ahead. He is now setting his sights on Belal Muhammad, the recently defeated welterweight contender, urging him to make good on past challenges.
Muhammad has been critical of Strickland for the past year, even labeling the former middleweight king a “coward” after his loss at UFC 312. When questioned about his next opponent, Strickland brought up Muhammad`s persistent taunts, particularly now that Muhammad lost his shot at the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
Speaking with Helen Yee, Strickland stated that fighting Muhammad “would be a fun one.” He issued a direct and blunt challenge: “Belal, you should f*cking sack up, dog. This is it. You can finally sack the f*ck up, dude. All that shit you talked, man, we can finally make it happen.” Strickland noted that since both have recently suffered tough losses, it`s an opportune time for them to face off.
However, Strickland was clear about the weight class. “Well, you’re going to middleweight. I’m [230 pounds], I ain’t going down to welterweight.” He recalled Muhammad`s claims online about being willing to move up. “He said he would [come up to fight me]. All that shit he talks on the Instagram… Now you can, you f*cking p*ssy. Do it for Palestine.”
Strickland`s record stands at two losses in his last three fights, both against du Plessis, following his upset title victory over Israel Adesanya in September 2023. The 34-year-old fighter is eager to return to the octagon and mentioned he was interested in a fight with Reinier de Ridder after de Ridder`s recent stoppage win.
Unfortunately for Strickland, de Ridder was subsequently booked to fight Robert Whittaker. Strickland also revealed he was offered a bout against a top-ranked middleweight but turned it down, stating the opponent also declined the fight.
Strickland explained, “I wanted to fight that RDR kid, but Mick [Maynard] wanted me to fight Caio [Borralho].” He found the potential matchup with Borralho awkward due to knowing him and his family personally.
He described the discomfort: “Like, at a press conference, ‘Hey Caio, how’s your baby doing? What, he’s turning two?’ It’s just awkward because I know [him and] his family. It’s not fun.”
Regarding de Ridder, Strickland commented positively: “But that RDR… that would be a great one. You’re a jiu-jitsu [guy], you beat up Bo Nickal, who is a f*cking p*ssy. That’d be a great fight.”
