Dana White says Sean Strickland next in line for UFC middleweight title, set to face Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya winner

Dana White recently announced that Sean Strickland will get the opportunity to fight for the UFC middleweight title next. According to White, Strickland will take on the victor of Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya is set to challenge du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 305 this weekend. Although the contest is much awaited, one of the main concerns is who will get the next title shot. Many names, including former champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, are in contention for the title, as is Strickland himself.

Strickland didn't start this year the way he had wanted, as he lost his middleweight title to du Plessis at UFC 297. However, 'Tarzan' got back in the win column with a split decision win over former title challenger Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Since successfully defending his No. 1 middleweight ranking against Costa, the 33-year-old has been clamoring for another title chance, believing that he has earned the right to wait.

It appears like Strickland's wish has been granted, as in a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White confirmed that Strickland is next in line for the UFC middleweight title. The UFC CEO said (via BJ Penn):

''Sean Strickland right now is the number one ranked middleweight in the world and the answer is yes'' .

Following Whittaker's first-round knockout win over Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia, Strickland and 'The Reaper' were expected to face off in a title eliminator. However, the former champion mentioned the Australian's losses to du Plessis and Adesanya as evidence that facing Whittaker was a bad decision.

It would be intriguing to see if Strickland can reclaim his title, given that he won it against Adesanya and lost it to du Plessis.

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Dana White confirms Sean Strickland's next fight but Dricus du Plessis thinks otherwise

UFC CEO Dana White's intention to give Sean Strickland a title shot comes as a surprise, given the recently announced rebooking of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.

In a recent interview with Shak MMA, reigning champion Dricus du Plessis stated that he believes the victor of Whittaker vs. Chimaev should get the next title shot instead of Strickland. He said:

''Strickland shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he got it by default and then proved that he deserved to be there. So that’s amazing. The winner of Khamzat and Whittaker is gonna get the title shot. That’s gonna happen. Strickland says he’s gonna wait until he gets a title shot. He’s gonna wait for quite a while, in my opinion.''

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (16:08):