Jorge Masvidal believes Sean Strickland has elevated himself into legendary status following UFC 328.

Strickland challenged Khamzat Chimaev for the UFC Middleweight Championship this past Saturday. Strickland was a sizable underdog, just as he was before defeating Israel Adesanya back in 2023. Once again, Strickland pulled off a massive upset by dethroning Chimaev via split decision.

Masvidal backed Strickland to upset “Borz” prior to UFC 328. Speaking to Full Send MMA, “Gamebred” said that Strickland is now a lock for UFC’s greatest honor (via MMAJunkie).

“Sean Strickland has to go down as a Hall of Famer, and is an all-time great,” Masvidal said. “Let’s take a little step back. Even before he got the belt, he’s had some amazing performances throughout his career. He fought at 170, he was cutting a little too much weight.

“He came up, he really started showing out, finishing guys, setting himself up for success. Separating himself from the pack by his fight style. He has a good finishing rate, and he’s beaten a lot of up-and-coming guys, he beat a lot of established guys, and he beat a lot of guys he probably should have never beat.”

Strickland now joins an elite list of names who have captured UFC gold twice or more. That list includes the likes of Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Jon Jones, and many more. The question many have now is can he turn in a successful title defense?

The first UFC title defense for Strickland ended in a split decision loss to Dricus du Plessis. He has now set his sights on Nassourdine Imavov, but Chimaev is seeking a title rematch. This is despite UFC CEO Dana White claiming he was told by Chimaev about plans to move up to 205 pounds.

Is it too soon to call Sean Strickland a surefire UFC Hall of Famer, or do you think he has done enough to seal it in the future? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.