Sean Strickland explains why he turned down UFC 325 fight, trashes Khamzat Chimaev holding up division

Sean Strickland is anxious to get back to work after his suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission is lifted but he won’t be fighting at UFC 325 in Australia.

The former UFC middleweight champion was handed a six-month suspension after he jumped in the cage and attacked a fighter named Luis Hernandez at a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas. The altercation popped off after Hernandez defeated Miles Hunsinger and then taunted Strickland, who was serving as one of Hunsinger’s coaches for the event.

While it cost him six months of his career, Strickland clearly has no regrets.

“Guys my suspension is up in like 10 days, I’m so f*cking stoked!” Strickland said on Instagram. “I just need like 8 weeks, 10 weeks, I’m a little fat. But did this suspension suck? Hell yes, it sucked but would I do it again to hit that guy in the face? Yes, I would.

“If a man tells you to do that, you’ve got to fight him, there’s no other way. You’ve got to send it. Cop or not, you’ve got to send it so yeah, I’d hit that cop again.”

When he’s not fighting, Hernandez is a deputy sheriff but he actually didn’t seek repercussions against Strickland for the altercation. Regardless, Strickland served his time off and now he’s hoping to book a fight but it won’t happen at UFC 325 in Australia.

“Yes, I did say no to the Australia card,” Strickland said. “Australia, I f*cking love you guys. You guys are all white trash, you’re all like minded. I feel like we’re one and the same but I don’t have medical insurance. You want me to go get my first fight back in Australia and give half my check to you f*ckers and buy your medical insurance? I ain’t f*cking doing it. I ain’t doing it. ‘Fluffy’ [Anthony Hernandez] don’t want to do it, I don’t want to do it. We ain’t doing it. I love you Australia, I love UFC but I just can’t do it, I can’t f*cking do it.

“Anyways, that being said, I love the ‘Fluffy’ fight. Let’s get this shit booked in the states. I’m an American. I’m like one of the few real Americans fighting in the UFC, other than Bryce [Mitchell]. So let’s get this booked in the states.”

Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez is looking to pick up a ninth win in a row after he was previously scheduled in a potential No. 1 contender’s bout against Reinier de Ridder in October but he was forced off the card with an injury.

It appears Hernandez is headed for a collision course with Strickland in 2026, although the fight obviously isn’t finalized yet.

Strickland hasn’t fought since February when he lost a unanimous decision to Dricus du Plessis in a middleweight title bout.

While he sounds motivated to get back to the belt again, Strickland doesn’t expect much movement in the 185-pound division so long as Khamzat Chimaev is champion.

Strickland has rarely held his tongue when addressing Chimaev and his latest rant took aim at the UFC middleweight champion for his lack of activity after winning the title in August and then revealing he didn’t expect to fight again until after having a minor surgery and then observing Ramadan in early 2026.

“A little insight on the middleweight division — the middleweight division’s on f*cking ice,” Strickland lamented. “You’ve got [Khamzat] Chimaev, the little whore, he has Ramadan and then he has a surgery and then he’s going to fight Nassourdine [Imavov] in a year and just dry hump Nassourdine and then he’s going to have to go back home and kiss the dictator and maybe his ovaries are hurting. So the middleweight division doesn’t exist.

“I’d be better off trying to fight for a 205 [pound] belt than I would the middleweight belt. It don’t exist anymore. That’s what we got when we got that little whore in. So after he goes and fights and kisses the ring and says ‘Daddy [Ramzan] Kadyrov, can I fight again? Do you want me to go do jiu-jitsu with your kid?’ Then it will get set up. The middleweight division’s on ice.”