Ex-UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker not ruling out Sean Strickland as next opponent

Robert Whittaker can see a scenario in which he fights Sean Strickland next.

Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) was pegged as a potential title challenger for middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney, after Adesanya claimed that Dricus Du Plessis is dealing with a foot injury.

Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) emerged as a No. 1 contender after finishing Whittaker by TKO at UFC 290, but with Adesanya yet to have his next title defense booked, Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) thinks he could end up fighting Strickland next.

“Remember, we ruled out Sean Strickland because we thought he was fighting Izzy in September,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “But that doesn’t look to be happening anymore. I can’t see Sean Strickland jumping Dricus if they don’t fight September. I’m not going to rule him out of the discussion of my next fight. We’re going to have to wait and see.”

Whittaker’s loss to Du Plessis marked his first at 185 pounds outside of title-fight setbacks to Adesanya. He’s already back in the gym, as he awaits the top of the middleweight division to play out.

“It’s one of those things – the division is kind of backed up at the moment and there’s a lot of moving pieces that are just not moving in the way I want them to,” Whittaker said. “But regardless, I’m going to focus on just getting back into that winning track. I’m excited for the training. I’m back in training already. I’ve been back in the gym hustling and I am more eager than ever to get back in there. So I don’t know who it’s going to be, but we’ll wait and see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.