Sean Strickland has no interest in fighting Robert Whittaker anytime soon.
Former UFC middleweight champion Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) is preparing to return to the Octagon next month when he takes on Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event at UFC Houston on February 21.
Strickland fought just once in 2025, losing in a title fight to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 almost a year ago. As he looks to work his way back into contention at 185 pounds, Strickland says that he has no interest in fighting his fellow former champion Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) on his way back to the top.
“No, I don't want Whitaker,” Strickland told Jon-Bernard Kairouz. “It doesn't do anything (for me). (If) I beat Whitaker, there's no title shot ahead of that. It doesn't do anything.
“It's like the girl at the party, everybody's f***ed. And you're just like, you know, like ‘maybe if 3am hits, there's nobody left, I might try it.’ Whitaker's body counts too high.”
Whittaker is coming off two back-to-back defeats against Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder over the past 18 months, whereas Strickland’s next opponent is on a completely different trajectory, having won 9 fights in a row during his rise up the middleweight rankings.
“Good thing about Fluffy (is that the) guy's on like a 50-fight winning streak,” Strickland said of Hernandez. “(If you beat him then) you're next in line. He's like the American (Khamzat) Chimaev. That's the fight.”
