5 potential opponents for Sean Strickland after latest win

#2. Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa holds a record of 13-2

Let us now consider the possibility that Sean Strickland will face a man not competing this Saturday. While most of the top middleweights will be in action, there remain some big names available that could make the most sense as the next step for Strickland.

Paulo Costa was an undefeated monster not so long ago, before losses to Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori brought him back down to earth. The weight issues Costa had in the fight with Vettori also led to many suggesting that Costa would be forced to compete in the light heavyweight division from now on.

If Costa is able to convince the UFC to let him stay at 185 lbs, you can be sure that he will not be gifted an easy opponent. With Strickland in the form of his life, he might be exactly the sort of opponent the UFC would come up with for Costa's last chance in the middleweight division.

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#1. Sean Strickland vs. Marvin Vettori

Marvin Mettori holds a record of 18-5-1

Marvin Vettori is currently ranked No.2 in the division. He won his last fight and may not be all that far away from re-entering the title picture. While he and Sean Strickland may be friends, a fight between them certainly seems appropriate given where they each are in their respective careers.

Vettori has proven himself to be one of the best middleweights on the planet and it seems fair that any challenger rising up the ranks ought to prove they are better. There is the potential for the top of the middleweight division to become quite congested following Saturday, so this fight might make sense for the UFC.

Should Strickland win, he would likely have done enough to secure a title shot at a later date when there are not many fighters involved in that conversation. If Vettori were to win, he would likely still need one more victory before the UFC gave him a second shot at winning middleweight gold.