"Give the man what he deserves" - Fans rally behind Sean Strickland after he reiterates intent to sit out until offered 185-pound title shot

Sean Strickland returned to the octagon for the first time since losing the middleweight title to Dricus du Plessis via split decision at UFC 297 earlier this year. 'Tarzan' was able to bounce back by defeating Paulo Costa via split decision in an uneventful co-main event at UFC 302 this past weekend.

The No. 1-ranked middleweight took to X on Monday to reveal that he plans to sit out until he receives a title opportunity, stating:

"Time to sit and wait for a title shot.........."

Check out Sean Strickland's tweet on waiting for a title shot below:

@therealjeffreyp believes Strickland deserves the opportunity to fight for UFC gold once again:

"Give the man what he deserves. I still wanna see him and public square do something together."

@dificult_hunter claimed that Strickland will defeat du Plessis:

"They are genuinely upset you beat paulo and are gonna beat dricus again"

@eddiejedi questioned who the middleweight champion will face next:

"who will Dricus fight next? or is he too busy doing the masked singer? 🤔"

@tripleg4L pointed out that the wait could be long with Israel Adesanya rumored to receive the next title opportunity at UFC 305 in August:

"You’re not skipping Izzy so you’re gonna be really waiting buddy"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Dana White calls out judge for awarding Paulo Costa four rounds against Sean Strickland

While Sean Strickland was able to pick up a split decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302, one judge - Dave Tirelli - awarded the latter four rounds. Dana White called out the judge for the strange scorecard in a bout that 'Tarzan' quite clearly won. Speaking at his post-fight press conference, the UFC CEO stated:

"It wasn't weird, it was f**king nuts, that's what it was. Insane. That guy should never ref a big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging. It's unbelievable. I mean, how anybody who isn't an absolute f**king lunatic could call that fight a split decision. I don't even know what to say about that, it's insane. That guy shouldn't be judging big fights."

Check out Dana White's comments on judge Dave Tirelli below:

While Costa did land more significant strikes in each of the first two rounds, it is hard to make a case that he won the fight - let alone four rounds. 'Borrachinha' took credit for a poor performance following the fight, noting that he has to be better and more aggressive.

Check out the official scorecard for Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa below: