Strickland not interested in fighting Aussie Whittaker

American mixed martial artist Sean Strickland is holding out for a rematch with middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis rather than taking on Australian Robert Whittaker.

Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) posted a unanimous decision over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 this month after relinquishing his title to South African Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in January at UFC 297.

Meanwhile, Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) - who beat Costa in February - recorded a knockout win over Ikram Aliskerov on Saturday at the UFC's first event in Saudi Arabia.

Though Whittaker has said he would take on Strickland, the former champ has other ideas.

"I keep getting asked to fight Whittaker," Strickland posted on social media.

"I beat Izzy, the world knows I beat Dricus. Whittaker lost to both. I am the number 1 contender, I defended that spot easily against Costa. I will wait....."

In his first title defence, Du Plessis will face Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) on August 17 in the UFC headliner in Perth.

Before losing to Du Plessis, Strickland took the title from Adesanya at UFC 293.