Tag: dricus du plessis

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 title fight loss: ‘You definitely beat me’

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 loss you definitely beat meNewly-minted undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis claims recent foe, Sean Strickland actually admitted he was beaten in the…

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 loss you definitely beat me

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?

Dricus Du Plessis’ manager was told by Team Adesanya that ‘Izzy would be ready’ for UFC 300

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 300Despite fighting to a razor-thin and somewhat controversial split decision at UFC 297, Sean Strickland and new middleweight world…

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 300

Despite fighting to a razor-thin and somewhat controversial split decision at UFC 297, Sean Strickland and new middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis will move on from one another.

UFC CEO Dana White appears to be cooking up something a little more exciting for Du Plessis’ first title defense despite the fact that even he admitted to scoring the highly-debated headliner in favor of Strickland. Though nothing is official, fight fans assume that the promotion will be targeting a clash between DDP and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.

It certainly makes sense given their heated history, including a racially charged face-off in July following Du Plessis’ second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker. But whether or not it happens at the promotion’s next big landmark event, UFC 300, is up in the air as rumors continue to circulate about Adesany’s health.

DDP’s manager Daniel Rubenstein attempted to clear the air on what has been going on behind the scenes, revealing that ahead of Du Plessis’ win over Strickland in Toronto, he was informed that Adesanya would be ready to fight at UFC 300. That in turn prompted DPP to call out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in his post-fight interview.

“Preference wise, I think it’s Adesanya. I think there’s heat between the two of them, they’ve already done all the lead up to build the fight. I think [Adesanya] is who we’d all prefer as a team,” Rubenstein said on the Anik & Florian podcast. “Very honestly, he wasn’t gonna call out Izzy if Izzy wasn’t gonna be ready.

“I hit up Izzy’s manager like, ‘Hey is Izzy gonna be ready? We’re gonna call out Izzy if he’s gonna be ready. But if he’s not gonna be ready for [UFC 300] I don’t want Dricus barking up the wrong tree. We’ll call out Alex Pereira, he’s right there in the Octagon.’ They told me Izzy would be ready, so that was the callout he made” (h/t MMA Mania).

UFC 300 is still without a main event

The UFC 300 headliner is still a mystery with Dana White recently revealing that they are circling a few different options for the most anticipated main event announcement of the year.

10 fights in total have been announced for the milestone event on April 13, but only one title tilt (BMF excluded) has made its way onto the card. That would be a strawweight championship showdown between Chinese superstars Zhang Weili and Yan Xianan.

The full UFC 300 lineup thus far is as follows:

Video – Sean Strickland’s immediate backstage reaction to UFC 297 title loss: ‘Welcome to fighting’

Sean Strickland response UFC 297 lossSean Strickland’s middleweight title reign came to an end a mere four months after it began. Following his stunning…

Sean Strickland response UFC 297 loss

Sean Strickland’s middleweight title reign came to an end a mere four months after it began.

Following his stunning upset of two-time champion Israel Adesanya in September, Strickland was primed to score his first successful defense against South African finisher Dricus Du Plessis. And in the eyes of many, he did exactly that. However, two of the three judges overseeing the bout favored DDP, handing him the victory and the title by a razor-thin margin.

Strickland had little to say in the immediate aftermath, but the outspoken fan favorite recently shared a video on YouTube that documented his response to the loss backstage.

“Once that eye opened up, man, I just couldn’t see sh*t,” Strickland said after returning to the locker room with his team. “Welcome to fighting. I feel like Chris Curtis. I’m going to start f*cking calling myself Chris Curtis.”

Strickland sustained a nasty cut over his left eye, one that he later attributed to a headbutt in the later rounds of the 25-minute affair. On X, Strickland shared a clip of the incident which offered a look at some compelling evidence along with the subsequent damage it resulted in.

With the accidental clash of heads apparent and everyone seemingly split on who should have left Canada with the title, including UFC CEO Dana White who scored it in favor of Strickland, there is a very strong case to be made for an immediate rematch between the two. Unfortunately, that appears to be on the back burner as the promotion is looking to book a clash with either Israel Adesnaya or the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

All things considered, do you believe Sean Strickland is entitled to a rematch?

Official odds released for Dricus du Plessis – Israel Adesanya title battle amid links to fight after UFC 297

Israel Adesanya claims betl never mattered to him fight just for fun after UFC 293Off the back of his UFC 297 championship victory over the course of the weekend, Dricus du Plessis has…

Israel Adesanya claims betl never mattered to him fight just for fun after UFC 293

Off the back of his UFC 297 championship victory over the course of the weekend, Dricus du Plessis has officially opened as a betting underdog to beat former two-time divisional best, Israel Adesanya in an expected title fight between the two rivals next.

du Plessis, who headlined UFC 297 last weekend in Toronto, emerged with the undisputed middleweight title in tow, landing a close, contentious split decision win over defending champion, Sean Strickland over the course of five rounds in their Canada clash.

As for Adesanya, the City Kickboxing striker has been sidelined since he dropped the crown to the aforenoted common-foe, Strickland back in September at UFC 293, in one of the biggest title fight upsets in the history of the organization.

Israel Adesanya opens as close betting favorite

And despite his championship fight loss to Strickland – which came as a record-setting second in the space of a calendar years, opening odds have Israel Adesanya placed as a close -105 betting favorite to beat newly-crowned gold holder, Dricus du Plessis, with the Pretoria native a +115 betting underdog. 

Linked with a UFC 300 headliner in a quickfire April grudge title fight between the two, the ultimate VIP betting experiences online can help fans land the biggest payouts in a world of interesting outright bets and prop specifics – ahead of what promises to be the most high-profile pay-per-view event of the year for the Dana White-led promotion 

Issuing an immediate call out in the direction of Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya off the back of his title fight win over Strickland, du Plessis urged the former to get up off the couch amid his title fight loss late last year, in a bid to settle their long-standing rivalry. 

Sharing the Octagon back in July of last year following his stunning UFC 290 win over Robert Whittaker, Pretoria native, du Plessis was gearing up for a title clash with then-champion, Adesanya, however, a lingering injury suffered ahead of the bout forced him to miss a September turnaround. 

Already knocking back the advances from the likes of unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev in the wake of his championship win in ‘The Great White North’, du Plessis has been pursued already by former middleweight kingpin and current light heavyweight best, Alex Pereira.

And furthermore, former champion, Whittaker has staked his claim for another shot at South African favorite, du Plessis after their International Fight Week clash last summer, claiming his preparation for the officially-billed championship-eliminator was less than lax. 

Hinting at a potential return in a title battle against du Plessis, Israel Adesanya received flak across social media earlier this week, after posting footage of him reacting to the UFC 297 title fight – where he was left in hysterics after mocking Strickland’s championship loss in his first attempted title fight defense. 

Teasing a return on his official Instagram account, Israel Adesanya, who claimed he would be sidelined from full-time training until the end of February, appeared to let fans privy on an incoming return to camp for a competition comeback. 

Who wins in a future title affair: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?

Paulo Costa lobbies Dana White for title fight with Dricus du Plessis after UFC 297: ‘Give me him, papa’

Paulo Costa Dricus Du PlessisPaulo Costa is interested in a fight with Dricus Du Plessis, and he recently let it be known. Becoming…

Paulo Costa Dricus Du Plessis

Paulo Costa is interested in a fight with Dricus Du Plessis, and he recently let it be known.

Becoming the first-ever South African UFC champion, Du Plessis made history at UFC 297 with his decision victory over Sean Strickland. After the judges’ scorecards were announced, ‘Stillknocks’ could barely contain himself due to overwhelming joy at his achievement.

While the new South African champion didn’t mention Paulo Costa, that didn’t stop ‘Borrachina’ from attempting to get his name into the fray. Taking to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, ‘Borrachina’ retweeted a post of Dana White attempting to place the belt on Du Plessis after the scorecards were read. “Give me him Papa,” Costa wrote.

Fans Troll Paulo Costa after Dricus Du Plessis Call Out

While Costa’s callout of Du Plessis could’ve just been an attempt to keep his own name relevant, fans were not having it. “Wasn’t your last fight in 2017?” One fan joked.

“Breaking: Paulo Costa has pulled out of his DDP callout,” another laughed.

“You can’t fight for a title with one win in the last two years,” scoffed another.

So, it seems obvious that Costa has left fans wanting more. ‘Borrachina’ has had a career riddled with fight cancellations, and it’s left a lot to be desired. For a fighter so talented, with such a colorful personality, fans just want to see him perform more. Costa probably despises the amount of times a fight of his has been called off, but sometimes things are beyond control.

With a confirmed bout with Robert Whittaker at UFC 298, fans may finally get their chance to see ‘Borrachina’ back in action. With a win over the former champion Whittaker, his callout of Du Plessis would always carry a lot more weight.

Do you think Paulo Costa will ever fight twice in a single year again?

Israel Adesanya teases return amid links to grudge fight with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 300: ‘Here we go again’

Israel Adesanya teases UFC 300 return amid links to Dricus du Plessis fight here we go againFormer two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has teased a potential return to the Octagon in the near future,…

Israel Adesanya teases UFC 300 return amid links to Dricus du Plessis fight here we go again

Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has teased a potential return to the Octagon in the near future, amid links to a championship grudge fight with newly-minted gold holder, Dricus du Plessis at UFC 300 in April.

Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he took main event honors at UFC 293 back in September of last year, suffering a stunning title fight loss to Sean Strickland in the pair’s short-notice clash, in a massive upset unanimous decision defeat.

As for du Plessis, the Pretoria native headlined UFC 297 over the course of the weekend in Canada, landing the undisputed middleweight title with a close, debated split decision win over common-foe, Strickland in ‘The Great White North’. 

And welcoming the opportunity to potentially settle his long-standing score with City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya off the back of his title victory, du Plessis appeared to be all ears to a stunning UFC 300 clash in April, however, is likely facing a race against time to make the event, with a medical suspension likely to be enforced amid facial damage suffered against Strickland.

Himself only set to return to training in a full-time capacity at the end of February, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya claimed his path with du Plessis was “destined” to cross once more in the future – following a tense face-off in the Octagon in July of last year, before a failed fight between the duo.

Israel Adesanya teases UFC 300 comeback

However, on social media overnight, former champion, Israel Adesanya appeared to hint at an impending return to action, posting, “Ah sh*t, here we go again,” on his official Instagram Stories. 

A title fight victory for Adesanya over du Plessis would also see the ex-titleholder become the first three-time champion in the history of the promotion’s middleweight division. 

Who wins in a future title fight: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?