Sean Strickland takes a shot at Luke Rockhold after teammate Chris Curtis pulls off upset at UFC 268

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland took a shot at rival Luke Rockhold after his teammate Chris Curtis pulled off an upset at UFC 268.

Strickland was originally set to take on Rockhold in a high-profile middleweight bout on the UFC 268 pay-per-view card. However, Rockhold was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury, and the UFC decided against booking Strickland against another opponent on the same card. Instead, the promotion had an open slot on the card, and, crazy enough, the open slot was given to Strickland’s teammate Curtis, who took on Phil Hawes. Hawes vs. Curtis was supposed to happen last month in Las Vegas, but Hawes wanted more time to prepare for his opponent. With Strickland/Rockhold off, there was a spot open at UFC 268, and so Strickland decided to make the trip to New York and support Curtis.

In what was the biggest upset of the night, Curtis knocked out Hawes in the first round in his UFC debut in what was an incredible KO victory. Taking to his social media following his friend’s win, Strickland reacted to the victory by Curtis and then he also decided to use it as an opportunity to take a shot at Rockhold for withdrawing from fighting at UFC 268.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV9KvvVpsRI/

Well that’s a wrap. First round finish….. @lukerockhold you’re a disappointment to me, to everyone and most importantly yourself!!

Curtis told BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton ahead of UFC 268 that the only reason he got a UFC contract was that Strickland called up UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and pleaded for him to keep his spot on the roster after the Hawes fight originally fell apart. The UFC gave him a shot, and he knocked out Hawes to prove that he is a UFC-caliber fighter.

Do you want to see the UFC re-book the Sean Strickland vs. Luke Rockhold fight or would you rather see the promotion match up Strickland against somebody else next?