Sean Strickland shares blunt update after first day back in sparring after Dricus du Plessis loss at UFC 312: "Nose a little sore"

Sean Strickland recently took to Instagram to provide fans with an update on his training. On his Instagram Story, the former middleweight champion disclosed that he returned to sparring for the first time since his crushing loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, which marked the second defeat he's suffered at the South African's hands.

While Strickland wasn't particularly chatty, he revealed that his nose, which Du Plessis broke during their fight, was left sore from his sparring session. However, he is grateful to be back to training, which he was repeatedly described as one of his true passions:

"Alright guys. First day back to actually sparring. Nose [is] a little sore, a little sore. But it feels real f*cking good to be back and have a purpose again."

A screenshot of Sean Strickland's Instagram story

Strickland's second bout with Du Plessis was far more lopsided than the first, which was a highly competitive affair that some felt Strickland had done enough to win. In the rematch, the South African star showed that he'd developed a much tighter understanding of his rival's overall game and exploited it.

Besides his patented jab and teep, Strickland was unable to do much else, leading to frustration from his cornermen, with his coach Eric Nicksick subsequently blasting him following the loss.

Now, Strickland is at a crossroads in his career and is unlikely to earn a crack at middleweight gold so long as Du Plessis remains the division's champion.

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Sean Strickland is being linked to a fight with Robert Whittaker

Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker are two former UFC middleweight champions coming off one-sided losses. 'The Reaper' recently touched on his desire to fight up the rankings at middleweight, turning down a challenge issued by Roman Dolidze. Instead, he eyed a matchup with 'Tarzan'.

Whether that fight is next for Strickland has not been made official, as he is still fresh off his loss to Du Plessis.

A trilogy bout for the title is unlikely, but a possible path to championship gold could open up if Khamzat Chimaev manages to dethrone Du Plessis in their expected fight.