Luke Rockhold offered return fight against Sean Strickland, says Dana White

Luke Rockhold had been asking for a top-10 middleweight and he has gotten his wish.

UFC president, Dana White has told TSN’s Aaron Brontsteter that Rockhold has been offered Sean Strickland as his return fight. Strickland is now ranked eighth at middleweight and Rockhold has claimed several middleweights don’t want to fight him.

Luke Rockhold has been offered Sean Strickland as his next opponent per Dana White.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 3, 2021

Luke Rockhold has been offered Sean Strickland as his next opponent per Dana White.

After Strickland beat Uriah Hall on Saturday, many thought this was the fight to make. The top of the middleweight division is already booked and it allows Rockhold to get a top-10 opponent. It also allows Strickland to get a big name and if he wins, he would likely be in line for a top-five opponent.

Luke Rockhold (16-5) hasn’t fought since UFC 239 where he suffered a second-round KO loss to Jan Blachowicz in his light heavyweight debut. Prior to that, he lost by KO to Yoel Romero at UFC 221 for the interim middleweight title. Rockhold is the former middleweight champion who beat Chris Weidman at UFC 194 to become the champ. Unfortunately for Rockhold, he never defended the belt as he suffered a KO loss to Michael Bisping in his first title defense. In his career, he holds notable wins over Bisping, Lyoto Machida, and Tim Kennedy among others. He’s currently unranked at middleweight due to the time off.

Image Credit: USA Today

Sean Strickland (24-3) is coming off a decision win over Uriah Hall at UFC Vegas 34 on Saturday in his first middleweight scrap. He’s currently on a five-fight winning streak and is a perfect 18-0 at middleweight in his career. Although he has been in the UFC since 2014 he had eight fights at welterweight and lost two years of his career due to a motorcycle crash. If Strickland does end up fighting Rockhold, there’s no question if he gets his hand raised, it would be the biggest win of his career.

Would you like to see Luke Rockhold vs. Sean Strickland?