A battle between former middleweight champions could be brewing.
Former titleholders Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland are both coming off of losses, and Whittaker believes ‘it’s most likely the fight to make.’
“I think Strickland makes a good argument to have because I feel like we’ve both been in that top sort of the pond for a while circling each other,” Whittaker said during an appearance on the “On Paper with Anthony Smith” podcast. “I feel like for whatever reason we haven’t been matched up, but we’ve both been in proximity for a while. It’s most likely the fight to make. I’m excited by that fight. I look at his style and I find it curious. I find it exciting to try and work out. He’s a tough dude. He’s a tough dude, but I’m really proud in my skill set and confident in my skill set.”
Whittaker (26-8) is coming off a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 306 in October. Chimaev applied a neck crank that left Whittaker’s bottom row to teeth pushed in. He’s since had them removed.
Strickland (29-7) was defeated by champion Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch in the UFC 312 main event earlier this month.
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