Two new champions were crowned last night at UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the Women's Bantamweight and Middleweight Division's saw their new king and queen. While the Co-Main event was a clear decision in favor of Raquel Pennington, the Main Event between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis saw a much more nuanced result. Check out our UFC news for more updates and breaking content!
After a ton of back-and-forth during the lead-up to this fight, Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis entered the cage with one thing on their mind: UFC gold. Sean Strickland was the model of a focused fighter as he kept his eyes on his opponent for the entirety of his walkout. Du Plessis took the moment in and saw his first championship environment as a fighter. The two brawled strike-for-strike as they both had their moments in the fight.
“When they said, ‘and new,' it felt like 15 years of work, dreaming and sacrificing came together in one single sentence,” Du Plessis said. “It was incredible, it feels surreal. Amazing.”
Upon the scorecards being read, Du Plessis called for the South African flag. “This is history,” Du Plessis said in his postfight interview.
Of course, with the decision came backlash from the MMA community. Sean Strickland was clearly the more active fighter in the first round and while Round 2 was more even, Strickland still found the edge in the striking totals. Rounds 3 and 4 were all Dricus Du Plessis and it was clear that his cardio was in much better shape at that point. The fifth and final round was pivotal as both men pressed forward to try and swing the decision their way.
Sean Strickland was the main aggressor during Round 5 and many thought that he won the fight with his activity in the final minutes. UFC President Dana White even mentioned that he thought the fight was tied 2-2 heading into the fifth.
When asked about his thought and people saying Strickland won, Du Plessis simply said, “Bulls–t.”
However, he was quick to give Sean Strickland his props as the two clearly buried the hatchet following the fight. Du Plessis called Strickland's jab “super, super, super” good.
“It feels like somebody hits you with a rock,” he said. “It's very deceptive when he throws the jab, and he can turn it into a left hook. He does that really, really well.”
Dana White hesitated in his post-fight presser when asked about an immediate rematch for the two, but acknowledges that Strickland and Du Plessis will likely cross paths once again. With a South African Champion now crowned in the UFC, we can start looking towards the monumental UFC South Africa card that Dana White has been teasing for years now.
Check out our UFC news for more updates on UFC 297!
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