Sean Strickland blasts MMA judging criteria ahead of UFC 312 rematch against Dricus du Plessis

Sean Strickland is not a fan of what the judges look for when scoring MMA fights.

Strickland is set for a rematch against reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. The two will do battle in the main event of UFC 312 on February 8th. Strickland lost the 185-pound gold to “Stillknocks” back in early 2024 via split decision. It’s a fight that Strickland believes he should’ve won and he blames the scoring criteria of judges for the defeat.

Going into his rematch, Strickland is hoping to leave no doubt against du Plessis so that the judges aren’t a major factor.

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Sean Strickland Slams MMA Judging Criteria

Sean Strickland was recently interviewed by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto ahead of his UFC 312 rematch with Dricus du Plessis. During the interview, Strickland expressed his displeasure with MMA scoring.

“It’s such a stupid scoring criteria,” Strickland said. “Like, you could take someone down and keep them down for five seconds, how do you then score that? You get f*cking nothing, You took me down for five seconds, I get up and now I’m outstriking you. How the f*ck do you score that? As a whole grand scheme of a fight, what did that accomplish? Absolutely f*cking nothing, but the judges, ‘Oh, his back touched the ground. That’s a point.’ This ain’t f*cking collegiate wrestling, we’re f*cking fighting.”

Strickland went as far as to issue a challenge to du Plessis to keep their rematch standing. Du Plessis wasn’t too receptive to that idea, declining the challenger’s proposal.

When Strickland and du Plessis collide a second time, it’ll be inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The last time Strickland fought in Sydney, he shocked the world by defeating Israel Adesanya to capture the UFC Middleweight Championship back in September 2023. Time will tell if lightning can strike twice for Strickland.

Du Plessis has also had success against Adesanya in Australia. He submitted “The Last Stylebender” in their 2024 clash in Perth.

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