Strickland, Vettori Go Public

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland will be canceling his snowboarding trip in favor of a short-notice light heavyweight fight against Nassourdine Imavov atop the UFC Vegas 67 event this Sat. night (Jan. 14, 2023) inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Strickland has been criticized for his anemic offense across his last couple of fights but it sounds like “Tarzan” is ready to show off his 205-pound power. Then again, you never really know what’s genuine and what’s a gimmick with the division’s creepiest fighter.

“The UFC man, they’re good to me,” Strickland told The Schmo. “I like the UFC guys, I like the UFC. As far as a prostitute goes, I’m a pretty happy one. For this fight bro, I’ve been training hard, I’m gonna eat a f***ing pizza, I’m gonna do the f***ing man dance, you’re actually gonna see this f***ing punch get thrown. You might even see a f***ing takedown. Maybe, if you’re lucky. My cardio is gonna be good, maybe it doesn’t go to five rounds.”

Strickland was joined by fellow middleweight contender Marvin Vettori, who announced their “public” friendship after previously teasing a bromance back in May 2022.

“Now it’s public,” Vettori said. “We’ve been friends, now it’s gonna be public. We’re going to be the villains of MMA right now.”

Strickland, 31, dropped to 25-5 after coming up short against Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 66 just last month. The loss was “Tarzan’s” second straight, having previously fell to Alex Pereira at the UFC 276 pay-per-view (PPV) last summer.

For the rest of the UFC Vegas 67 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.