Tag: dricus du plessis

Dricus Du Plessis ‘Super Frustrated’ By UFC 312 Boos: ‘If It Was Towards Me, You Are Stupid’

UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis insists he’s not to blame for how his main event in Australia this past Saturday unfolded. Du Plessis ran it back with former titleholder Sean Strickland in the headlining act of UFC 312 inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, with the pair renewing hostilities 13 months on from the South […]

UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis insists he’s not to blame for how his main event in Australia this past Saturday unfolded.

Du Plessis ran it back with former titleholder Sean Strickland in the headlining act of UFC 312 inside Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, with the pair renewing hostilities 13 months on from the South African unseating “Tarzan” in Canada.

After submitting Israel Adesanya in his first defense last August, “Stillknocks” was targeting a statement second time around against Strickland. And he succeeded in recording a much more definitive victory, smashing the polarizing American’s nose en route to a lopsided decision.

While Du Plessis’ dominant performance drew plaudits, the fight itself failed to impress, with the challenger’s gun-shy approach leading to noticeable boos from the crowd.

That disappointed the champ, who told Full Send MMA that he never has any intention of putting on a “boring” fight. With that in mind, he hopes the fans were directing their displeasure at Strickland.

“I don’t put on boring fights. I don’t have the ability because I don’t know how to fight like that. When I heard the boos, in my mind they are 100 percent towards him. And if it was towards me, you are stupid, anyone who booed,” Du Plessis said. “I went forward the whole time. At the stage when I heard the boos, it drove me crazy. I was like, ‘Come on, dude. Fight me!’ The first and second round, I was piecing him up. In that third round, he was kind of just evading.

“I got super frustrated because people pay a lot of money to be here and I wanna give the fans a show,” Du Plessis continued. “That irritated me. That makes me crazy. I’ll have to rewatch it. If it was boring, I’m really sorry, that’s not my fault. I went forward. I wanted to fight. I know there was times where it wasn’t a war, but it’s not my fault. I went forward and I wanted to fight.”

Du Plessis is certainly not known for lackluster displays inside the cage, having gone the distance just three times in professional MMA fights and finished the likes of Robert Whittaker and Adesanya.

Strickland, on the other hand, has been repeatedly criticized for promising wars during fight weeks but failing to deliver fireworks once the cage door closes behind him.

Joe Rogan Reacts To Dricus Du Plessis’ UFC 312 Win Over Sean Strickland: ‘He’s A Tough Puzzle’

While the UFC 312 main event itself didn’t exactly deliver fireworks, color commentator Joe Rogan was extremely impressed by how middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis controlled it. Du Plessis returned to the cage for his first assignment of the new year and second defense of the 185-pound title on Saturday night, headlining the pay-per-view in […]

While the UFC 312 main event itself didn’t exactly deliver fireworks, color commentator Joe Rogan was extremely impressed by how middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis controlled it.

Du Plessis returned to the cage for his first assignment of the new year and second defense of the 185-pound title on Saturday night, headlining the pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia opposite a familiar foe in Sean Strickland.

After narrowly dethroning the polarizing American by way of split decision 13 months ago, the South African champ put a stamp on his superiority over “Tarzan” second time around.

During his JRE Fight Companion episode for UFC 312, Rogan reacted to Du Plessis’ dominant five-round decision victory over the former titleholder, who was left with a badly broken nose.

“DDP fought really well, man,” Rogan said. “It was that big right hand that changed everything. … Dricus Du Plessis, ladies and gentlemen. He’s a tough puzzle to figure out. A very tough fight to figure out.

“He’s a big f***** for 185 pounds too. That’s a big f*****,” Rogan continued. “He did a really good job of setting up, throwing that low kick, switch kick to the body, and kept that pace up for the entire five (rounds). He keeps getting better.”

While Strickland goes back to the drawing board after being pushed out of the title conversation following two defeats to Du Plessis in his last three fights, “Stillknocks” has a ready list of challengers vying for a shot at his gold.

It would appear that the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev is immediately next in line, with the rising Nassourdine Imavov chomping at the bit another step down the middleweight ladder.

Khamzat Chimaev & Nassourdine Imavov Among Fighters Unimpressed By UFC 312 Main Event

Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses. The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown. The South […]

Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses.

The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown.

The South African made good on his promise to show more evolution in the time since the first meeting, dominantly outpointing a gun-shy Strickland across five rounds in the UFC 312 main event at the Qudos Bank Arena.

As is often the case, “Tarzan” promised fans a war on fight night but failed to deliver, with his approach even garnering boos from the crowd in attendance at some points in the fight.

And it was far from just the locals in the arena who were bemused by how the fight played out at UFC 312. Among the critics online were a pair of top 185-pound contenders vying to compete for the gold next — Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov.

Many believed Chimaev was deserving of the first shot at Du Plessis in 2025. While “Tarzan” got the better of Paulo Costa in a lackluster 15-minute contest last June, “Borz” emphatically submitted Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi four months later.

Imavov, meanwhile, staked his claim for a first championship opportunity last weekend in Saudi Arabia, where he knocked out former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.

Khamzat Chimaev & Nassourdine Imavov Among Fighters Unimpressed By UFC 312 Main Event

Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses. The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown. The South […]

Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses.

The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown.

The South African made good on his promise to show more evolution in the time since the first meeting, dominantly outpointing a gun-shy Strickland across five rounds in the UFC 312 main event at the Qudos Bank Arena.

As is often the case, “Tarzan” promised fans a war on fight night but failed to deliver, with his approach even garnering boos from the crowd in attendance at some points in the fight.

And it was far from just the locals in the arena who were bemused by how the fight played out at UFC 312. Among the critics online were a pair of top 185-pound contenders vying to compete for the gold next — Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov.

Many believed Chimaev was deserving of the first shot at Du Plessis in 2025. While “Tarzan” got the better of Paulo Costa in a lackluster 15-minute contest last June, “Borz” emphatically submitted Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi four months later.

Imavov, meanwhile, staked his claim for a first championship opportunity last weekend in Saudi Arabia, where he knocked out former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.

Dricus Du Plessis Bloodies and Batters Sean Strickland En Route to Dominant Victory – UFC 312 Highlights

Dricus Du Plessis Bloodies and Batters Sean Strickland En Route to Dominant Win - UFC 312 HighlightsDricus Du Plessis battered and bloodied Sean Strickland’s nose en route to a dominant victory in the UFC 312…

Dricus Du Plessis Bloodies and Batters Sean Strickland En Route to Dominant Win - UFC 312 Highlights

Dricus Du Plessis battered and bloodied Sean Strickland’s nose en route to a dominant victory in the UFC 312 headliner on Saturday night.

The opening round was fairly conservative with Strickland looking to establish his jab while Du Plessis mixed up his kicks, targeting the challenger’s midsection and lead leg. Things pretty much went that way for much of the first four rounds as Du Plessis stayed in steady control of the scrap.

gettyimages 2198476262 612x612 1

In the fourth round, things took a turn for the worse for Strickland after ‘DDP’ caught him with a nasty overhand right that connected clean and broke the challenger’s nose on impact. That prompted Strickland to immediately retreat as Du Plessis went into headhunter mode.

gettyimages 2198477722 612x612 1
gettyimages 2198477937 612x612 1

To his credit, Strickland fended off Du Plessis’ attack and made it to the fifth and final round. Unfortunately, Strickland wasn’t able to put up much of a fight throughout the final five minutes, leading to another dominant victory for the reigning middleweight world champion.

Official Result: Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)

gettyimages 2198477966 612x612 1

check out highlights from Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 312:

‘Thought He Was Going To War?’ – Fans React As Sean Strickland Gets Nose Broken In Lopsided Loss To Dricus Du Plessis At UFC 312

The first fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland was a close battle that could have fallen either way, ending in a controversial decision for the South African despite UFC CEO Dana White feeling “Tarzan” won the fight. But the rematch between the two was not close at all. Du Plessis took complete control […]

The first fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland was a close battle that could have fallen either way, ending in a controversial decision for the South African despite UFC CEO Dana White feeling “Tarzan” won the fight. But the rematch between the two was not close at all.

Du Plessis took complete control in a lackluster, dominant decision win over Strickland to retain the UFC middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 312.

The opening round saw both men delivering single shots. Despite previous acknowledgement about the risks of close rounds, Strickland tried to use his jab for a lead, but the champ kept distance and strategically landed whenever he saw an opening.

The American landed some strong strikes early in the second round, but “Stillknocks” completely took over the output of that frame from there, seemingly putting the former champion in an early 2-0 hole.

The defending champion continued to take advantage of a lack of activity from the former one during round three. The big moment of the fight, however, happened in the middle of the fourth round when a right hand from Du Plessis connected harshly, breaking Strickland’s nose. Blood poured out as the challenger looked to up his power to get back into the fight.

In spite of nearly getting caught in a guillotine during an unadvised rush in, Du Plessis stayed the course and landed from distance, with his output far exceeding Strickland’s.

The South African nearly swept the scorecards, with two 50-45s and a 49-46 in his favor to keep the gold.

Dricus Du Plessis Retains In Dominant Outing Over Sean Strickland

Du Plessis won the middleweight title in the original fight with Strickland last year at UFC 297 and retained the gold with a submission of Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

Strickland, meanwhile, defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302. He had won the middleweight title in upset fashion when he defeated Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023.