Sean Strickland should fight for the middleweight title in November-December, says coach: "He has never really lost the belt"

Sean Strickland's coach recently opened up about 'Tarzan's' next UFC fight. Eric Nicksick, who trains Strickland at the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, revealed that the former middleweight champion will return to the octagon later this year in a potential title fight.

Strickland believes he has earned the right to wait for another title shot after successfully defending his No. 1 middleweight ranking against Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Nicksick discussed Strickland's return in November or December in a potential middleweight title fight, saying:

"In my head, he [Sean Strickland] never lost the belt. It was such a close fight with Dricus. He dominated Izzy. I think if Izzy wins that fight that's an easy rematch Izzy's gonna want to get that revenge. If Dricus wins you think [he will] give Sean the opportunity to avenge that loss. So, both of them makes sense to me, I think Sean has a claim at the next shot at that belt and sit on it. These guys fight next week, so we can fight by November or December.''

Check out Eric Nicksick's comments below:

Robert Whittaker and the American were tipped for a title eliminator match after Whittaker defeated Ikram Aliskerov via first-round knockout on June 22 at UFC Saudi Arabia. However, Strickland cited the Australian's losses against Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya as evidence that it was unwise of him to face Whittaker.

As for the middleweight division, du Plessis is set to defend his title against Adesanya at UFC 305 on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. It will be intriguing to see if Strickland can reclaim his UFC title, even though there has been no official announcement regarding his next fight.

---

Dricus Du Plessis discusses rematch against Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in a tough fight at UFC 297 earlier this year to become the new middleweight champion.

In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, du Plessis stated that he is open to a rematch against Strickland. However, the reigning champion is doubtful whether 'Tarzan' will be given a title opportunity, as Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev are both in contention.

''The Strickland fight? Sure. If that’s the fight that makes sense, that’s the fight I’m going to fight. I would have had no problem in doing the rematch. I even told the UFC there’s no problem...but it will be interesting to see if Strickland’s even close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fight happening soon.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]