Sean Strickland wants a fight, but he’s not interested in it being against Darren Till.
Once expected to make his return Nov. 6 at UFC 268, Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) was removed from the card when scheduled opponent Luke Rockhold withdrew due to injury. Two weeks after the event, Strickland has still yet to be rebooked.
Recently, Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) revealed the UFC offered him Strickland for a March card rumored to take place in London. However, Strickland made it clear Saturday that Till is not in his intentions for his next bout. There are two other middleweight contenders that do interest him, though: Paulo Costa and Jack Hermansson.
“Instagram blocked me, joked about a pedophile dying and I guess they didn’t like it lol!!!!” Strickland tweeted. “Anyways I’m not fighting Darren Till. I want (Paulo) Costa and if Costa can’t put down the wine and cookies I want Jack (Hermansson).”
Instagram blocked me, joked about a pedophile dying and I guess they didn't like it lol!!!! Anyways I'm not fighting Darren Till. I want Costa and if Costa can't put down the wine and cookies I want Jack.
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 21, 2021
Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is currently on a two-fight losing skid. Following an unsuccessful title challenge against champion Israel Adesanya, Costa lost a unanimous decision against Marvin Vettori. A fight that was originally scheduled for middleweight, the Vettori bout shifted to 205 pounds when Costa arrived at fight week significantly over the mark. The sequence of events led UFC president Dana White to declare Costa’s next bout take place at light heavyweight.
As for Hermansson (22-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), the Norwegian middleweight has alternated losses and wins over the span of his last four. After a defeat to Jared Cannonier, Hermansson submitted Kelvin Gastelum in 78 seconds. He followed up the performance with a loss to Marvin Vettori before a unanimous decision win against Edmen Shahbazyan in his most recent outing.
Strickland, 30, is riding a five-fight winning streak including victories over Uriah Hall, Krzysztof Jotko, and Brendan Allen amongst others. He’s 4-0 since moving back to middleweight, the division he started his fighting career at.
