Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland had a great championship fight to open up the year with. But it was a controversial fight, unclear to the fan base who won that fight, hence why the fight was ruled a split decision. This fight seemed to have left us with more questions than answers. The biggest question is, who deserves a title shot at Middleweight next? What’s next for the rest of the top of the division?
Here are the fights I would like to see at Middleweight next.
Sean Strickland vs Robert Whittaker
I know Robert has a fight booked with Paulo Costa, but if Costa has shown us anything, it is that just cause he has a fight booked does not mean the fight will happen? So, I like Sean vs. Robert; they are two different stylistic matchups. They are both former Middleweight champs, and the winner between them can get another shot at the title.
Khamzat Chimaev vs Jared Cannonier
Cannonier debatably has already done enough for a title shot. Three guys have beaten Sean Strickland at Middleweight; two are now UFC champions, and the other is Jared Cannonier. But he has been away dealing with an MCL injury, and if we are honest with ourselves, Cannonier vs DDP has no hype behind it. But if he can derail the hype train that is Khamzat, no one will argue that Cannonier doesn’t deserve a title, and he’ll have a lot of hype behind him going into that title fight.
Isreal Adesanya vs Dricus Du Plessis
I know Izzy is 2-2 in his last four fights, but he is still the 2nd greatest Middleweight of all time, and everyone wants a piece of him. This is the fight that Dricus Du Plessis seems to have had his eyes on since they had a huge beef that has been building up for over a year now. If you can put this fight in Africa, it will be a historic event, no matter who comes out on top.
