Sean Strickland dismisses potential Robert Whittaker title eliminator fight next: "I will wait"

Sean Strickland recently turned down the idea of a championship eliminator bout against Robert Whittaker. 'Tarzan' has been vocal about his desire for a title opportunity since losing his middleweight belt to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 in January.

The UFC's middleweight division is currently a hotbed of anticipation and activity, highlighted by reigning champion du Plessis' upcoming title defense against Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305. Adding to the drama, both Strickland and Whittaker are compelling contenders, each making their case to challenge the winner of the Aug. 17 bout.

The MMA community has suggested a matchup between both the former champions to determine the No. 1 contender for the title. However, Strickland has recently shown disinterest in facing 'The Reaper', opting instead to patiently await the championship opportunity he believes he has earned. He posted on X:

"I keep getting asked to fight Whittaker. I beat Izzy, the world knows I beat Dricus. Whittaker lost to both. I am the No. 1 contender, I defended that spot easily against [Paulo] Costa. I will wait..."

Check out Sean Strickland's post below:

Following his surprising upset victory over Adesanya at UFC 293 last September, 'Tarzan' quickly returned to defend his title just four months later against du Plessis. In a closely contested battle, the American lost the championship by split decision—a verdict he firmly believed should have gone in his favor. Strickland bounced back earlier this month with a dominant victory over Costa at UFC 302.

Meanwhile, Whittaker is riding high after a dominant first-round finish of Ikram Aliskerov, who stepped in on short notice to replace Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, 'The Reaper' secured a decision victory over Costa at UFC 298 in February.

---

Robert Whittaker disapproves of Sean Strickland's fighting style

During a recent episode of the MMArcade podcast, Robert Whittaker lashed out at Sean Strickland's approach in his fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

'The Reaper' attributed Strickland's back-to-back split decisions to his fighting style and argued that the American failed to win rounds decisively:

"He leaves it too close. Every round is too close, and that’s why you lose some decisions you’re confident in winning. That’s why you can inch out wins sometimes and that’s why you inch out losses sometimes because you don’t define the rounds enough, you don’t do enough to make yourself the obvious winner of the round."

He added:

"It wasn’t a very exciting fight – the crowd were booing it at stages. Sean was just kind of pressuring forward the whole time and Costa was on skates the entire time."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below (14:10):