Robert Whittaker says he expects his next bout agreement to have Sean Strickland’s name written towards the top.
Former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker remains without an opponent since losing by first-round submission to Khamzat Chimaev last October, while Strickland was bested earlier this month in his rematch with the 185-pound champion Dricus du Plessis. And with both currently in no-man’s land as it relates to their title ambitions, Whittaker says that the time has come for them to throw down in the cage.
“I think Strickland makes a good argument to have because I feel like we’ve both been in that top sort of pond for a while circling each other,” Whittaker told Anthony Smith, as reported by MMA Fighting. “For whatever reason we haven’t been matched up, but we’ve both been in proximity for a while, and it’s most likely the fight to make.
“I’m excited about that fight. I look at his style and find it curious. I find it exciting to try and work out. He’s a tough dude. But yeah, I’m really proud of my skill set, and confident in my skill set. I know I’ve had off days, but you work through them. I’m still putting things together sometimes.”
The timeline for Strickland’s return to competition remains unclear as the former champ appeared to sustain a nose injury in his defeat to Du Plessis but Whittaker, 34, says that he doesn’t want to hang around too long for his next assignment.
“I’ve just been working on some things, working on some new skill, working on some new skill sets, but I want to come back this year in June,” he said. “That’s when I want to put my hand up to fight because it gives me a good amount of time to just continue doing what I’m doing, but also ease into a camp properly and come in my best self.”
