A chaotic UFC 297 Fight Week on the part of Sean Strickland complete with media sparring sessions (the verbal kind) and unruly fans may or may not have distracted the now-former champ, but either way, he’s minus his world title following Saturday’s showdown with Dricus Du Plessis.
What’s next for the budding, controversial star and the other main card combatants who fell short this past weekend? Let’s take a look.
Sean Strickland
Sean Strickland is a star. And, as his own best friend Chris Curtis put it, Strickland is “an idiot.” For all the efforts he’s made to shun his racist past, Strickland has courted more controversy than anyone this side of Colby Covington, and “Chaos” can at least claim to be playing a character. Strickland isn’t, which makes his rhetoric concerning, especially when he’s calling anyone supporting gay people an “infection” and threatening to outright stab and murder his would-be opponent.
That Dana White wasn’t interested in telling Strickland to tone things down tells you all you need to know about where the promotion stands on this. The UFC CEO had the good sense to limit the pre-fight press conference in Toronto to a mere blip after a Strickland fan rushed the stage, while others chanted “say the N word,” attempting the be just the edgiest little edgelords. But none of it is particularly amusing, and if things do some day get out of hand and someone gets seriously hurt, the promotion need look no further than its own leadership for where to place the blame.
The question now becomes, what do you do with Sean Strickland, who in basically two fights went from “that weird sociopath guy” to one of the promotion’s biggest draws? Dana White claimed Saturday that he could fight anywhere, including the Apex. That might help curtail some of the stupidity that graced the Toronto card, but Strickland the fighter should be fighting in front of fans. He’s a draw, and no matter what the UFC promotional machine might have you believe, those are always in short supply given the number of events churned out each year.
So – no, there shall be no Apex show for Sean Strickland. Without the title, he either headlines a Fight Night, or serves as a co-main event. As a one-and-done champ, there’s no call for an immediate rematch, and the headbutt story doesn’t have legs. You could pair him up with the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa, but neither of them tend to fight often, which might be a lot of down time for Strickland, who fought six times in the past two years and got one in early to start 2024. If Jared Cannonier was healthy (he injured his MCL) or due back soon, a rematch with “The Killa Gorilla” could be interesting, as their first fight was close.
Roman Dolidze fights Nassourdine Imavov in just under two week’s time however. Strickland has a win over Imavov, but a fight with Dolidze works whether he wins or loses, given Strickland is an ex-champ coming off a loss, and Dolidze is ranked in the top 10.
Strickland’s next fight: Roman Dolidize
Mayra Bueno Silva
Pennington vs. Silva wasn’t Esparza vs. Namajunas 2 bad, but it wasn’t great, and sucked the wind out of the ACC (sorry, ScotiaBank Arena) on Saturday. Mayra Bueno Silva not seeming prepared to go a full five rounds didn’t help that. It’s now back of the line for “Sheetara” who had built up a nice little run.
Karol Rosa is coming off a December loss in a Fight of the Night winning effort against Irene Aldana. That fight made the short list for Fight of the Year. Rewarding Rosa with a recent title challenger while giving Silva a high-profile match-up is just smart matchmaking.
Silva’s next fight: Karol Rosa
Mike Malott
Mike Malott was about a minute away from another UFC win until he gassed out, had the tables turned and was put away by Neil Magny. It was a sudden end to a life-long dream, turned into a nightmare (one shared by all of the Canadian men at UFC 297, though the women saved the day).
Malott is still young in his career and Neil Magny has the most wins in UFC welterweight history. “Proper” Mike will learn a proper lesson from the experience and no doubt come back stronger. He won’t get a ranked opponent again so soon, but a guy like Gabriel Green could work. Green has been a litmus test for fellow rising stars Ian Garry and Bryan Battle, the latter a TUF champ. Magny was too much too soon, let’s see how Malott does against Green.
Malott’s next fight: Gabe Green
Marc-Andre Barriault
The Canadian men just couldn’t catch a break at UFC 297, and that was the case for the “Power Bar” a.k.a. MAB, a.k.a. Marc-Andre Barriault. The Quebec middleweight and former TKO double-champ lost a split decision to Chris Curtis, and missed out on his ticket to the top 15.
Next up: Abus Magomedov. Abus came into the UFC on a lot of hype, picked up a win, then was pushed into a fight with Sean Strickland where he floundered. A decision loss to Caio Borralho followed. It’s sink or swim time for Magomedov, he’s not booked, and if MAB wins, he’s back hunting for a ranking.
Bariault’s next fight: Abus Magomedov
Arnold Allen
Arnold Allen has now lost two straight, which is an almighty shame for a fighter’s fighter who carried himself like a professional at all times. Problem is, Movsar Evloev is now 18-0 and was simply a tough fight to bounce back from a loss to Max Holloway on at UFC 297.
Allen still has plenty of road ahead but his #4 ranking may already be gone by the time you read this. He’ll need to fight down the ladder a bit, and the always reliable Alex Caceres could work. He’s still hanging on in the top 15, coming off a loss to Giga Chikadze.
Allen’s next fight: Alex Caceres
