Dana White reveals Sean Strickland will face the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

Sean Strickland will be getting the next middleweight title shot, according to UFC CEO Dana White.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his title for the first time as he takes on Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 this Saturday. It’s a highly-anticipated fight but one of the big questions is who will be getting the next title shot.

Sean Strickland has said he’s holding out for a title shot, while the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev would also be in line for a title shot, as well. However, according to White, Strickland will be getting the winner of Du Plessis vs. Adesanya.

.@danawhite confirms Shawn Strickland will fight the winner of DuPlessis vs Adesanya. pic.twitter.com/cM5vr8rOId

— Jim Rome (@jimrome) August 13, 2024

“Sean Strickland right now is the number one ranked middleweight in the world and the answer is yes,” White said on The Jim Rome Show.

It is a bit surprising that White would commit to Strickland being the next title challenger before the fight has happened. But, the UFC CEO thinks Strickland deserves the title shot after he beat Paulo Costa by decision in June after dropping a controversial decision to Du Plessis to lose his middleweight title.

Although White says Sean Strickland will get the next title shot, Dricus Du Plessis recently came out and said he thinks the winner of Whittaker vs. Chimaev should get the next title shot.

“Whittaker does have the two wins,” Du Plessis told Shak MMA. “Strickland shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he got it by default and then proved that he deserved to be there. So that’s amazing. The winner of Khamzat and Whittaker is gonna get the title shot. That’s gonna happen. Strickland says he’s gonna wait until he gets a title shot. He’s gonna wait for quite a while, in my opinion.

“If Whittaker beats Khamzat, he’s 100 percent getting the title shot,” Du Plessis continued about Sean Strickland. “The UFC’s been wanting to give Khamzat a title shot since his debut. Maybe if it’s a draw, Khamzat will still get the title shot. Let’s see if he makes it to the fight.”

Sean Strickland is currently 29-6 as a pro and coming off the win over Costa.