Sean Strickland doesn’t believe the first title defense in his second reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion will be against Dricus du Plessis.
Strickland and du Plessis have shared the Octagon twice. “Stillknocks” defeated Strickland via split decision back in Jan. 2024 to capture the 185-pound gold. Their title rematch was far more one-sided with du Plessis earning a unanimous decision victory.
While du Plessis ultimately lost the championship in a wipeout against Khamzat Chimaev, Strickland battled his way back into title contention and challenged “Borz” in the UFC 328 headliner. Strickland pulled off a massive upset over Chimaev via split decision to become a two-time UFC middleweight titleholder.
Du Plessis hasn’t fought since his wide decision loss to Chimaev back in Aug. 2025. Strickland told Casino.com that the inactivity shouldn’t be rewarded with another title fight (via MMAMania).
“Dricus hasn’t fought since [UFC 319], he’s been inactive for a while,” Strickland said. “It was last August, so we’re coming up close to a year now. I don’t think sitting out on the sidelines gets you a title shot. He’s gotta fight again. In the meantime, there’s [Nassourdine] Imavov. He’s out there, he deserves the title shot. Joe Pyfer also just stopped Israel Adesanya, so I think that’s a great matchup. I’d love to see Israel fight Dricus. But Imavov deserves it.”
Whether or not Imavov will actually get the next crack at middleweight gold remains to be seen. UFC CEO Dana White recently told former four-time MLB Gold Glove winner Bret Boone that the UFC brass hasn’t decided who will be next for Strickland. In a recent post on X, Imavov said he’s expecting the UFC decision makers to keep their word and grant him the next title shot.
As for du Plessis, there is a potential grudge match brewing. The former UFC Middleweight Champion has been called out by top contender Caio Borralho. The two had an exchange on social media after Borralho went to South Africa in search of du Plessis.
If you had the book, who would you match Dricus du Plessis up against next? Play matchmaker in the comments below.