Dana White: Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya rematch may not happen next

Sean Strickland shocked the world last time out when he out-struck striking phenom Israel Adesanya to capture the middleweight title. Following his win, there was a wide consensus that ‘The Last Stylebender’ would get an immediate rematch, but that may no longer be the case.

While speaking to the media at the Contender Series press conference last night, Dana White shed some doubt on the 185lbs championship bout. According to the UFC CEO, another rising challenger in the weight class could force his way into contention.

“I mean, that fight [between Strickland and Adesanya] just happened.” Said White. “A couple of fights are gonna play out here now over the next month or so and then we’ll go from there and figure out what’s next. Whatever the best fight to make when all is said and done, and who’s injured, who’s not injured, who can go, what time, where, you know? There’s a lot of different factors that play into what we’re going to do next.”

Dana White doesn’t often make matchups on the night of the fights but with a month now passed since the title clash, he and his team have most likely done some discussing.

The middleweight division is stacked with a number of high-level contenders who are all hoping to be called for the next shot at UFC gold. Dricus du Plessis is the obvious standout, beating all six of his opponents inside the octagon thus far and finishing five of them.

Related: Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t understand Dana White criticism

‘Stillknocks’ was originally meant to meet Adesanya in the cage this year but was replaced with Strickland when he refused the fight date due to injury. The South African may now jump ahead of the rest of the competitors to get his shot at the champion.

There are also some huge matchups set to take place later this year that may shape the future of the division. Firstly, the #4-ranked Jared Cannonier will welcome Roman Dolidze into the cage in a battle between two powerhouses.

Another fight at middleweight will see Khamzat Chimaev make his return to the weight class when he collides with Paulo Costa later this month. ‘Borz’ has already called out champion Strickland and hopes a win at UFC 294 on October 21 secures him a title shot.