‘Let’s Make The UFC American Again’

“There’s gonna be no f*cking Americans left in the UFC.”

Sean Strickland hasn’t been fond of the influx of international talent in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The former Middleweight champion sits atop the rankings in one of the promotion’s most culturally diverse divisions. In his last 14 bouts, Strickland has battled only two of his fellow Americans since November 2017.

It’s nothing new for the 185-pound division to have international talent rule the roost. Most obviously, Brazil’s Anderson Silva etched his name into the history books as one of the most dominant champions in mixed martial arts (MMA) history during his record 16-fight winning streak and 10 title defenses in UFC (Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold). In between Silva and Strickland, there were only two of 10 title reigns that belonged to Americans. The outspoken “Tarzan” would like to see his countrymen step up.

“At one point, there’s gonna be no f*cking Americans left in the UFC,” Strickland told MMA Mania. “We’re all gonna be watching Dagestanis and Russians, Brazilians fighting. No one’s gonna give a f*ck. So, that’s what I think about that, you know. Let’s make the UFC American again.”

Strickland, 33, lost his title to South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis in a closely contested split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024 (watch highlights). He rebounded to get back in the win column with a five-round split decision over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 last month (June 1, 2024).

With the win and close nature of his du Plessis loss, Strickland believes he deserves his rematch for gold and is planning to wait for it no matter what. Sorry, Robert Whittaker, your fellow former champion is not budging on that one. Meanwhile, du Plessis will make his first title defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 next month (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024).