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UFC middleweight kingpin Sean Strickland seems to have little appetite for impromptu fights.
Just a scant 10 days before UFC 294, the highly-anticipated middleweight co-main event featuring Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa was abruptly scrapped due to surgery complications on the Brazilian's end. However, the UFC promptly orchestrated a solution, enlisting the former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as Chimaev's eleventh-hour replacement.
According to a recent report by combat sports journalist Marc Raimondi, the UFC initially reached out to 'Tarzan' with an offer to put his recently acquired 185-pound championship on the line. However, the 32-year-old American turned down the opportunity due to his title clash against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 just last month.
The UFC's purported offer to have Sean Strickland face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 triggered a whirlwind of fan reactions.
One fan wrote:
"Offering a champion a short notice fight is crazy lol"
Another wrote:
"He fought a month and a half ago, can’t blame him"
Check out some more reactions below:
"Shows how they really dont want Sean Strickland as champ."
"You don't ask a guy who just got the belt to defend on 2 weeks notice and fly across the world when the challenger has been there for over a month"
"The disrespect is crazy"
"UFC really not trying to invest into making Sean a star…Crazy how quick they pump and dump their fighters at times"
"Yeah who on earth would agree to an uprepared title defense?"
"That’s gotta be one of the worst ideas for a backup match proposed to a champ that isn’t fighting on the card of all time."
Sean Strickland claims Kamaru Usman's UFC 294 bout against Khamzat Chimaev is purely financial
UFC CEO Dana White had previously stated that the victor in the clash between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev would secure the next shot at the middleweight title.
In light of this, Sean Strickland will be keeping a close eye on the bout. However, the division's champion expects Chimaev to dominate Usman, as he believes 'The Nigerian Nightmare' accepted the fight primarily for financial reasons.
During a recent episode of his podcast with Chris Curtis on YouTube, Strickland stated:
"So, here’s the thing, Usman’s not on a camp, Usman hasn’t been bulking up to middleweight. Usman took this fight for a paycheck. They said, 'Hey Usman, here’s probably a couple million, you want to take this fight? We’ll give it to you. Usman said I can’t say no, I’m going to do it.' It’s a win-win for Usman."
He added:
"So, I think it doesn’t really count because you have Chimaev who has been training his a** off, who has been bulking up for middleweight and then you have Usman who’s been like, I’m going to take this to get a paycheck." [h/t BJPenn.com]
Check out Strickland's comments below (from 18:00):
