Henry Cejudo was surprised by UFC’s decision to provide Sean Strickland with a middleweight title shot.

The former two-weight UFC champion and Olympian Wrestler Henry Cejudo doesn’t think Sean Strickland was deserving of getting a middleweight title shot against the champion Dricus du Plessis.

We are only a few days away from the highly anticipated rematch between former middleweight champion Sean Strickland against current champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312. The event is scheduled to take place on February 09, 2025, at the Qudos Bank Arena, in Sydney, Australia. 

After a measured and tactical Du Plessis prevailed against a forward-pressing Strickland at the main event of UFC 297, MMA fans around the world were delighted to witness such a spectacle. Both of these warriors went to war for 25 minutes inside the octagon absorbing nasty damaging shots majorly on their faces. 

However, many fans were left unsatisfied after Du Plessis edged out Strickland on the judges’ scorecard securing the victory via a split decision. The outcome of that fight wasn’t decisive enough for them to accept The South African as the new middleweight champion, mainly the hardcore Strickland fans committed to the narrative that their favorite fighter was unjustly robbed. 

As eager as we are to see the rematch, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo has a different take on Strickland’s contendership.

“I still stand by what I said man. I personally don’t feel like Sean Strickland really deserves the title shot. Only reason why what Khamzat (Chimaev) did to Robert (Whittaker) I was surprised the UFC did that! I mean think about it. You get DDP and a guy like  Khamzat Chimaev, both of these guys have mouthpieces on them. I mean either fight is going to sell, but it is what it is! ” – Cejudo said on the Pound 4 Pound Kamaru Usman & Henry Cejudo Podcast. 

Although Cejudo believes Khamzat Chimaev would’ve been a much tougher challenge for the reigning champion, he still doesn’t discredit Sean Strickland’s chances of winning this fight. 

“Strickland does have it, but when I look at this fight Kamaru (Usman) I got to think about who’s gonna have to make those adjustments. And the person that is really gonna make those adjustments because he lost his last fight, it is Sean Strickland.

Did Sean Strickland focus a lot on his takedown defense, on that threshold, on that conditioning? Because if Sean Strickland could keep it on his feet, bro Sean Strickland is really dangerous with that shoulder roll. The takedowns really carried Dricus throughout the fight, but now if Sean Strickland develops a good defense or a better range, DDP could be in trouble.” –  Henry Cejudo added. 

Henry Cejudo picks Sean Strickland on the feet to defeat Dricus Du Plessis. 

This match-up between Du Plessis and Strickland is a tricky one to predict because their fighting styles matches well against each other. 

In the first fight, Du Plessis kept catching Strickland with overhands while mixing up with takedowns worked well against an unyielding fighter like Strickland. But as the fight progressed, Strickland was able to march down Du Plessis with his jabs and crosses. 

Henry Cejudo also believes Sean Strickland will become a major threat to the current champion if he manages to keep the fight on his feet.  

“If I’m DDP, what I’m looking to do early now, because he has been there with Strickland for five rounds, 25 minutes of understanding somebody’s fight pace and threshold. He’s gotta have to start the wrestling right away. He’s gonna have to kick, he’s gonna have to wrestle, but he cannot stand in that striker position too much, because man! Strickland can turn around and beat this dude!” – Cejudo said on the Pound 4 Pound Kamaru Usman & Henry Cejudo Podcast. 

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