“Tarzan” isn’t going “Down Under.”
Former UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland is gearing up for a return after serving a six-month suspension for assaulting a regional fighter who defeated his teammate at a Tuff-N-Uff event this past June in Las Vegas (details here).
The UFC hoped to reintroduce him with a banger: a matchup against surging title contender Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez at UFC 325 in Sydney, Australia. But Strickland isn’t making that trip.
“You guys, I did say no to the Australia card,” Strickland said on social media today. “Australia, I f—king love you guys. You’re all white trash and like-minded — I feel like we’re one in the same — but I don’t have medical insurance. So you want me to get my first fight back in Australia and give half my check to you f—kers and buy your insurance? I ain’t f—king doing it. Fluffy don’t wanna do it, I don’t wanna do it — we ain’t doing it.”
“Anyways, that being said, I love the Fluffy fight,” Strickland concluded. “Let’s get this shit booked in the States. I’m an American. I’m one of the few real Americans fighting in the UFC other than Bryce [Mitchell], so let’s get this booked in the States.”
It also feels like the right time to bring Strickland back to U.S. soil. He’s competed only once in America over the last two years and never fought stateside as champion. A California card would be ideal, as both fighters were born and raised there.
If the UFC books it in the States … who wins?
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