Newly-minted undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis claims recent foe, Sean Strickland actually admitted he was beaten in the Octagon by the former – in the immediate aftermath of their UFC 297 title affair, despite questions of the scorecards issued in Canada.
du Plessis, the newly-crowned undisputed middleweight champion, headlined UFC 297 earlier this month in Toronto, landing the divisional title with a close, debated split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) win over the aforenoted, Strickland.
However, in the immediate aftermath of his title victory over the outspoken, Strickland, the now-former champion claimed that an inadvertent headbutt from du Plessis altered the sway of monument in the fight, alluding to the fact that he likely would have won if the clash of heads had not occurred.
Dricus du Plessis reflects on Sean Strickland fight
Pretoria native, du Plessis now claims, however, that despite Strickland’s quipping on social media, the latter eventually admitted he was well beaten by the South African at UFC 297.
“He (Sean Strickland) came to me in the cage, and I think this is the first time publicly I’ll say this, he came to me in the cage,” Dricus du Plessis told SuperSport Unplugged during a recent interview. “Right before they announced me as the new champion, I went to him and I shook his hand, and I said, ‘You’re a warrior, well done, it was a great fight.”
“And he said, ‘No, you definitely beat me,” Dricus du Plessis explained. “He said to me, ‘You deserve it, you won that fight, you beat me.’ I also think so.”
Immediately following his win at UFC 297, du Plessis called for a title fight grudge match with former two-time undisputed middleweight gold holder, Israel Adesanya in the near future – claiming a member of his team informed him how the City Kickboxing staple would be available for a UFC 300 showdown in April.
Who wins in a future title pairing: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?