The thought of Sean Strickland as UFC middleweight champion wasn’t quite unthinkable not long ago, but it was pretty close.
Mired in a two-fight skid, Strickland rebounded earlier this year with wins over Nassourdine Imavov at light heavyweight and Abusupiyan Magomedov back at 185. But he still wasn’t truly in the title mix for then-champion Israel Adesanya until Dricus Du Plessis said he needed more time with an injury.