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Despite a shutout loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312, Sean Strickland has clung to his pound-for-pound UFC ranking.
Du Plessis scored a landslide victory against Strickland, obliterating his nose in the process. ‘Tarzan’ showcased his grit by resetting his nose mid-fight, but his performance left much to be desired.
Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold slammed Strickland for ‘b——- out’, and the fan consensus is that Strickland didn’t live up to his bold trash talk leading up to the fight.
Strickland maintains a pound-for-pound (P4P) spot on the official UFC rankings despite his performance.
Sean Strickland drops one spot to No. 15 in pound-for-pound list after UFC 312
Per the official UFC rankings, Strickland has dropped from No. 14 pound-for-pound men’s fighter to No. 15. Another loss for Strickland or a win from a fringe P4P talent could push him out entirely.
UFC 312 winner Du Plessis jumped one spot to No. 6, overtaking Belal Muhammad. ‘Stillknocks’ has defended his middleweight title twice, while Muhammad has not defended his title since defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
Strickland also dropped one spot in the middleweight rankings to No. 2, elevating Nassourdine Imavov to the top spot. Khamzat Chimaev, who submitted Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, remains at No. 3, but Strickland’s P4P ranking has MMA fans up in arms.
UFC fans bewildered by Sean Strickland’s pound-for-pound position
A panel of media members currently decides the UFC rankings. UFC CEO Dana White promises to fix the rankings with AI, but until then, fans will have to put up with the members’ rankings, and they’re not happy.
“Sean shouldn’t be top 15 after that performance,” One user wrote.
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Another concurred, “Strickland’s not a top 15 fighter…”
“Grown men on the panel that believe Strickland is higher than [Aljamain Sterling],” One user remarked.
“Why is Strickland even ranked,” Another dumbfounded user wrote.
One user lumped Sean O’Malley in with Strickland, “The fact O’Malley and Strickland are even on this list…” They commented.
Fans shouldn’t simmer over Strickland’s ranking for too long, as the middleweight elite is set to wash over him. Imavov has overtaken him as the No. 1 contender, and Chimaev is earmarked for the next title shot. There is also the potential of No. 6 Caio Borralho reaching the top five, and up-and-comer Gregory Rodrigues gets his shot at the rankings against No. 7 Jared Cannonier this weekend.