Sean Strickland had a strongly-worded message for Islam Makhachev after the UFC lightweight champion claimed he would move up to middleweight for a clash with the division’s top dog, Dricus Du Plessis.
Fresh off his fourth successful defense of the 155-pound title at UFC 311, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ is once again looking toward the future — a future that consists of him capturing a second belt on MMA’s biggest stage. But Makhachev isn’t just aiming for the next weight class up. Instead, he’s looking to jump from 155 to 185 in a bid to bring the middleweight belt back to Russia.
Islam Makhachev says he could move to middleweight and beat Dricus Du Plessis after #UFC311 but Alex Pereira at 205 is "too much." 😳 pic.twitter.com/I7wF30O6G9
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 19, 2025
Makhachev’s comments didn’t sit well with Strickland, a former middleweight titleholder and the man scheduled to challenge ‘DDP’ for the division’s top prize at UFC 312 on February 8.
“You’re a little man, bro,” Strickland told Helen Yee in a recent interview. “You ain’t going to wrestle me, dog, you’re this f*cking big, dog [points to his hip]. It ain’t going to happen. Go back to f*cking, I dont know, where is he from? Dagestan. Go back to Durkistan, bro, calm down.”
Sean Strickland Looks to Become Two-Time Middleweight Champion at UFC 312
After shocking the world with a lights-out performance against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to claim the middleweight crown, Strickland promptly handed the belt to Du Plessis four months later after coming up on the wrong side of a closely contested split decision last January.
Since then, ‘Tarzan’ has bounced back with a win over Paul Costa, re-establishing himself as the division’s top-ranked contender and setting the stage for a rematch with the South African superstar.
For ‘DDP,’ it will be his second time defending the title after scoring a fourth-round submission victory over ‘The Last Stylebender’ in August.
Watch the full interview below:
