Despite a shutout loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312, Sean Strickland has clung to his pound-for-pound UFC rating.
Du Plessis scored a landslide victory against Strickland, obliterating his nose in the method. ‘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 as much as his daring trash talk leading as much as 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. One other 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 within the middleweight rankings to No. 2, elevating Nassourdine Imavov to the highest spot. Khamzat Chimaev, who submitted Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, stays at No. 3, but Strickland’s P4P rating 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 guarantees to repair the rankings with AI, but until then, fans can have to place up with the members’ rankings, and so they’re not glad.
“Sean shouldn’t be top 15 after that performance,” One user wrote.
One other concurred, “Strickland’s not a top 15 fighter…”
“Grown men on the panel that consider Strickland is higher than [Aljamain Sterling],” One user remarked.
“Why is Strickland even ranked,” One other dumbfounded user wrote.
One user lumped Sean O’Malley in with Strickland, “The very fact O’Malley and Strickland are even on this list…” They commented.
Fans shouldn’t simmer over Strickland’s rating for too long, because the middleweight elite is ready to clean over him. Imavov has overtaken him because the No. 1 contender, and Chimaev is earmarked for the following title shot. There may be also the potential of No. 6 Caio Borralho reaching the highest five, and up-and-comer Gregory Rodrigues gets his shot on the rankings against No. 7 Jared Cannonier this weekend.
