"How down the drain we're going"- Former UFC middleweight titleholder suggests likes of Sean Strickland showcase sport's downward trajectory

Sean Strickland is the UFC middleweight champion, having captured the title against Israel Adesanya in one of the greatest upsets in MMA history. While many celebrated his triumph, and even pointed to the sport adopting a recent trend of upsets, others claimed it was evidence of a distinctly negative trend.

That claim comes from Luke Rockhold, who once held the promotion's 185-pound strap. Rockhold is no stranger to being critical of other fighters, especially those who compete in the middleweight-light heavyweight sphere. However, during a recent interview with The Schmo, he took aim at Sean Strickland.

First, he claimed to not think much of Strickland, before describing (at 4:18 minutes) the new middleweight champion as proof of what he believes is MMA's downward spiral:

"It's the current state of the world these days, you know, when you have champions like Sean Strickland. That just shows how down the drain we're going."

In addition to his comments about Sean Strickland, Luke Rockhold also jokingly claimed that he was deserving of a title shot, when asked by The Schmo for his thoughts on who should face Strickland in the latter's first middleweight title defense, given rumors of a potential Khamzat Chimaev fight, among others.

As previously mentioned, this is not the first time that Rockhold has leveled harsh criticism at other middleweights, whether former or current. He once lambasted Israel Adesanya for the former kickboxer's perceived lack of grappling skills and even drew the ire of Anthony Smith.

The 39-year-old American has even fancied himself against Jon Jones in the past, once pursuing a title fight with him during Jones' days as the light heavyweight champion. Unfortunately, for Luke Rockhold, his 205-pound debut was a disastrous affair, as he suffered a second-round knockout against Jan Błachowicz.

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Sean Strickland comments on Khamzat Chimaev's UFC 294 win

Khamzat Chimaev faced the stiffest test of his career at UFC 294 when he took on Kamaru Usman, a former welterweight champion. The unbeaten Chechen had numerous factors working in his favor, like the fact that Usman came in on very short notice. Unfortunately, Chimaev expended all of his energy in round one.

This led to a drastically less impressive performance in rounds two and three. That he won via majority decision over a short-notice welterweight has led to Sean Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion claiming that the strength of Chimaev's performance shouldn't earn the latter a title shot.

Nevertheless, he claimed he'd accept a bout with Chimaev due, in large part, to the high interest the Chechen phenom draws from fans.