Sean Strickland slams ‘coloniser’ Dricus du Plessis and ‘soft’ Robert Whittaker
Sean Strickland is on a warpath ahead of his UFC 312 showdown with Dricus du Plessis, even Aussie hero Robert Whittaker copped it.
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Sean Strickland has labelled his UFC 312 opponent, middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, a “silver spoon coloniser” while taking wild potshots at a host of divisional rivals, including Israel Adesanya, Khamzat Chimaev and “soft” Robert Whittaker.
Nothing was off-limits when the controversial American – who headlines Sunday’s card against South Africa’s du Plessis at Qudos Bank Arena – sat down with this masthead on Tuesday, despite Strickland reportedly finding himself in hot water the last time he fought in Sydney in 2023.
Back then, the Californian punched a fan in the stomach at Bondi Beach, while his history of controversial political and social comments even made it to New South Wales parliament.
Despite that, Strickland was a hit with Aussie fans (figuratively, not literally) in the lead-up to his shock win over Adesanya.
“You’ve got a bunch of rowdy white trash people out here, dude,” Strickland told this masthead over a coffee at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney’s CBD.
“They just like fighting.
“They like energy, and on the weekend, they’re gonna be stoked to watch two men try to kill each other.”
Strickland lost the middleweight belt he won against Adesanya in a razor-thin split decision defeat to du Plessis just over a year ago.
The build-up to that fight was ugly, filled with death threats and even a physical altercation cageside at UFC 296 a month earlier.
And it doesn’t appear the animosity has eased off, with du Plessis saying he’s prepared to kill Strickland this weekend.
The champ also mocked the normally staunch Strickland for crying when discussing his troubled childhood on a podcast.
Strickland hit back hard at both sledges.
“It’s stupid, it’s just a nice little sound bite, like a kid saying, ‘I’m gonna kill you, I’m gonna kill you!’” Strickland said of du Plessis’ death threats.
“No one’s dying, no one’s getting killed, calm down, South Africa.
“And the podcast comment, get new material. At the end of the day, you’re making fun of a man for crying, but what has Dricus ever gone through?
“You’re rich! You grew up rich, you’re a coloniser, you’ve got a silver spoon in your mouth.
“You have no idea what hardship and difficulty is. At the end of the day, you’re just a spoiled little kid.”
Strickland’s anger wasn’t just limited to his opponent this weekend.
The winner of their middleweight title fight will likely face Khamzat Chimaev next, but Strickland questions whether the Dagestani mauler is even allowed in America, and says he’ll never travel to Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia to defend the belt.
If Strickland loses this weekend though, Aussie hero Rob Whittaker shapes as the perfect next opponent for Strickland.
But even The Reaper, who is widely regarded as one of the nicest guys in the UFC, couldn’t escape Strickland’s fury.
“Rob’s a case of getting soft,” he said. “He got a loss, and he got the fire lit in his ass and he was about it – he was about winning.
“But then he got that W and he got soft again. He’s gone soft.
“He’s not a soft man, dude, but sometimes when life’s good, it makes you a little soft.
“Rob’s a real nice guy, he’s afraid of spiders, and I could see him getting a little soft when life’s good.”
So, is a fight between them out of the question?
“I’m in the UFC, dude, they tell me to fight, and I say yes.”
The best moment of Strickland’s career came with his boilover decision victory over Adesanya in Sydney 17 months ago.
As usual, the pre-fight build-up was often ugly and uncomfortable.
Adesanya wants a rematch, and, true to form, Strickland isn’t exactly ready to bury the hatchet either, raising the Kiwi’s childhood and close association with China.
“Izzy has this childlike demeanour, and I don’t know whether it’s because he had a nanny growing up, but you can tell that he’s a little mentally stunted,” he said. “He doubles down on saying ‘I’m the Chinaman’ but New Zealand is the reason you are who you are.
“To turn your back on them, and go with China…dude, China doesn’t give a f**k about you, they created Covid.”
Strickland rounded out his Adesanya rant by saying the Stylebender – who suffered a shock fourth loss in his last five fights on the weekend – needs to go back to the drawing board.
“He just got his ass kicked,” he said. “At this point, you need to start building up again. Two back-to-back finishes, maybe it’s time to go back and start working your way back up again.
“Go back to China and fight some Chinese dudes.”
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Originally published as Sean Strickland slams ‘coloniser’ Dricus du Plessis and ‘soft’ Robert Whittaker
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