Shawn Strickland wants his title.
One year ago, Strickland was knocking on the door of his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title opportunity. A victory over the talented kickboxing world champion Alex Pereira would have extended the winning streak of “Tarzan” to seven. Unfortunately for him, Strickland tasted defeat via a first-round knockout (a highlight to watch).
Strickland, 32, has been on a comeback track since the loss, suffering yet another defeat via split decision to Jared Cannon before taking a unanimous decision win over Nasiruddin Imafov in January 2023. Current middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya, awaits his win . The next challenger, who is expected to come off the Robert Whitaker vs. Dricos du Plessis fight at UFC 290 next weekend (Saturday, July 8, 2023). However, if Strickland wins at UFC Vegas 76 this weekend (Saturday, July 1, 2023) and the survivor doesn’t come out of UFC 290 too messed up, he could open the door for a no-candidate contender.
“If the money was right, I would fight anyone,” Strickland said on the UFC Vegas 76 media day. “I would like to fight Izzy. I think Whitaker is going to get to Dracus. And I think we all know that.
“It’s embarrassing that Dricos gets a potential shot, but the Chinese ‘Eazy’ – the real Chinese – probably want to bring a real African back into the championship. Can you guys believe it? Is it real when he says look at the color of my skin? Did this really happen?” Is this for real? This jester king, this loser king, bro. They need to cancel your black card, bro. I don’t even look at you as a black man. I look at you like a f-king Chinese.”
For Strickland to have any chance of taking on Adesanya anytime soon, he’ll need to move past rookie prospect, Abus Magomedov. Even if Magomedov is the one to top the list, Strickland sees a world where he gets that anti-hero spot instead… he doesn’t feel like it would be the most exciting choice, though.
“That’s a fun fight, man,” Strickland said of him against Adesanya. “Like, you take Abus. Who is Abus? Let’s just say Abus beat me out and become the champ. Who is Abus? Do you really want Abus to be a champ contender? Does this guy even speak English? A little bit? Well, here we go. No I know man.I hardly speak English with the king.A man can’t fight during the time of King Ramadan and his companions.
“I deserve a chance,” he concluded. “Let’s do it. Worst case scenario, Izzy and I are going to fight in the King’s parking lot because that–has got to happen.”
MMAmania.com will provide comprehensive and blitz live coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 76 fight card herestarting with ESPN /ESPN+ Primary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by ESPN/ESPN+ The main card start time is 7 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 76 news and notes, be sure to access our extensive event archive here And here. For the updated and finished fight card “Strickland vs. Magomedov” and ESPN /ESPN+ Lined up click here.