Sean Strickland claims he turned down Anthony Hernandez fight due to refusal to compete in Australia
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland declined the promotion’s offer to fight Anthony Hernandez for a bizarre reason.
Former UFC champion Sean Strickland is potentially weeks away from making his return to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 312. Strickland lost to Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision before being served a lengthy Nevada State Athletic Commission suspension due to an incident at a local MMA event.
As Strickland’s return nears, he has one name on his mind for his comeback fight: Anthony Hernandez. Hernandez and Strickland are two of the top middleweight contenders, especially after Hernandez’s dominant win over Roman Dolidze earlier this year.
But Strickland reportedly turned down a return date for UFC 325 in Australia on the upcoming Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 card, and the reasoning is odd.
Sean Strickland refuses to fight in Australia despite two past title fights in the country
In a recent Instagram post, Strickland explained why he turned down a fight at UFC 325.
“Good news: My suspension is up in 10 days, I’m so f—– stoked,” Strickland said.
“Did the suspension suck? Hell yes, it sucked. I did say no to the Australia card, I f—— love you guys, but I don’t have medical insurance…Fluffy don’t wanna do it, I don’t wanna do it, we ain’t doing it. Let’s get this s— booked in the States.
“The middleweight division is on f—— ice. You got Chimaev the little w—-. He has Ramadan, then he has a surgery, then he’s gonna fight Nassourdine in a year and just dry hump him.
“The middleweight division doesn’t exist,” Strickland continued. “I’d be better off trying to fight for a 205 belt than the middleweight belt.”
Strickland is looking to get back on track after losses in two of his last three fights to du Plessis. His last victory came against Paulo Costa at UFC 303 last year.
