Aljamain Sterling hits back after fan refers to former middleweight champ as "essentially Sean Strickland"

A fan recently compared Sean Strickland to another former UFC middleweight champion, something that Aljamain Sterling firmly disagreed with.

At UFC 312, Strickland failed to regain his lost strap in a rematch against Dricus du Plessis. After the pay-per-view, Sterling posted on X sharing his views about the current middleweight champion, who 'Funk Master' thinks is a "bit more physical for his weight class."

Additionally, 'Funk Master' complimented former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, stating that he would have been thrilled to see du Plessis and Weidman fight in their primes.

'Funk Master' wrote:

"Dricus is a bit more physical for his weight class in comparison to Saiman. But watching that fight just makes me think how good Weidman was in his prime. And how he’d look against DDP today. Both in their primes. 🤔"

A fan disagreed with Sterling’s remarks and called Weidman similar to 'Tarzan':

"Weidman? Na bro, and I respect Chris, but he was never that dude. He’s essentially Strickland, a guy who beat a legend, and didn’t do much after"

Aljamain Sterling and fan comments [Courtesy of @Aljamain Sterling on X]

Sterling launched a stern defense of his teammate, writing:

"Silva twice, Machida, Super Vitor is pretty damn solid. I don’t think you’re being rational here because he lost taking a fight with Rockhold while having injuries that plagued him in camp. All documented at that. Weidman was a G"

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:

'The All-American' has a professional MMA record of 16-8, has won twice against Anderson Silva, and boasts wins over Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida, among others.

The 40-year-old former middleweight champion joined the UFC in 2011 and soon amassed a 9-0 record. In 2013, Weidman dethroned 'The Spider' and ended his 16-fight win streak and seven-year reign.

'The All-Americans's' middleweight reign lasted for two and a half years, during which he defended his gold three times.

Meanwhile, Strickland, who has a record of 29-7, became the middleweight king by dethroning Israel Adesanya in 2023. In his next outing last January, the American lost the gold to du Plessis. Most recently at UFC 312, 'Tarzan' failed to regain it back.

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Dricus du Plessis picks Sean Strickland’s next opponent

Sean Strickland failed to recapture the middleweight title at UFC 312 as he lost to Dricus du Plessis in the rematch via unanimous decision.

At the post-fight conference, the reigning middleweight champion, who is certain about Strickland’s future outings and who the most probable opponent could be, said:

"I know what’s going to happen next. I can almost guarantee you what’s happening next: Is there any bets that he’s [Strickland] fighting Adesanya next?... I think the Adesanya rematch will be amazing. That’s what’s going to happen. It’s going to be a Fight Night main event. I know it.”

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments about Sean Strickland (1:36):