Sean Strickland reveals preference for first UFC title challenger, thought Israel Adesanya 'would be better'

26/09/2023 00:00

Sean Strickland is settling into his life as UFC middleweight champion.

More than two weeks after his shocking upset of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, Strickland appeared Monday on his podcast The Man Dance alongside co-host and fellow UFC fighter Chris Curtis to offer his first reflections on his improbable rise to the belt. And now that the dust has settled, Strickland's mind has settled on two things: First, that it was easier to win the strap than expected, and second, that Adesanya probably underestimated the brash American heading into a title defense that many assumed would be a cakewalk.

"Oh yeah, I guess I did win a championship," Strickland said, chuckling.

"It was a good time, you guys. It was a good time. I like fighting. I like to hit [people]. I like to fight, I give 110 percent, it was good. I thought Izzy would be better. I'm sure the UFC might give him a rematch and he might take it a little bit more serious and put up a better fight."

Strickland, 32, catapulted himself to overnight stardom with a dominant showing over Adesanya. Despite being a heavy betting underdog and the UFC's back-up plan once original title challenger Dricus du Plessis was unable to make the Sept. 10 date, "Tarzan" outclassed Adesanya from pillar to post, winning an all-striking affair with a one-sided unanimous decision and even knocking Adesanya down in the opening round.

Strickland's unlikely victory flipped the UFC middleweight division upside-down overnight, but now one big question remains: Who is going to be Strickland's first title challenger?

UFC CEO Dana White initially voiced support for an Adesanya rematch at UFC 293's post-fight press conference, however he has since somewhat walked back those comments. Du Plessis remains a top contender at 185 pounds following his knockout win over Robert Whittaker, and fan-favorites Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev are set to meet at UFC 294.

If Strickland gets a say in the matter, though, his main priority is clear.

"My thing is, dude, when it comes to that next fight, everybody's like, 'Who do you want to fight?' I don't give a f***, dude," Strickland said. "I want to make f****** money. I get those pay-per-view buys. Give me somebody who's going to make f****** money. I don't want to fight anybody boring. I want to fight, you know, give me someone who's making money."

Strickland admitted that his life has already begun feeling the changes that inherently come from being a well-known UFC champion, although he promised to stay true to his blue-collar roots. He said his first two big purchases since winning the belt have been a $500 trailer from Harbor Freight and a six-foot dinghy boat he plans to use for lobster season.

For better or worse, he vowed to still be the same guy he was before his life-changing night.

"As [long] as there's a camera in my face, I don't want to participate in making people feel like you are not enough," Strickland said. "If you work an eight-hour job, if you do rebar, if you do electrical, I think the value of you is by how you act, by the kind of father you are.

"So as long as I'm a f****** champion you guys, [I fight] for you. Enjoy your old f****** trucks, enjoy your old beat up f****** Honda Civics, man. ... I'm going to keep rocking my Hyundai Accent, we're going to keep making money, and f****** thank you guys because you're the reason why I got this f****** shot. Let's f****** go."