Tag: dricus du plessis

Dricus Du Plessis Tells Sean Strickland ‘You Hit Like a Girl’ Following Impromptu Brawl at UFC 296

Sean Strickland Dricus Du PlessisSean Strickland didn’t want to wait until UFC 297 to get his hands on Dricus Du Plessis. After engaging…

Sean Strickland Dricus Du Plessis

Sean Strickland didn’t want to wait until UFC 297 to get his hands on Dricus Du Plessis.

After engaging in a heated verbal confrontation at Friday’s Seasonal Press Conference, things came to a boiling point while the reigning middleweight world champion and his first challenger were on hand at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 296. Both fighters were shown on the big screen during a segment promoting their impending title tilt and everything appeared to be going to plan.

Moments later, chaos erupted as Sean Strickland calmly asked a family to move out of the way before leaping over a row of seats and laying into Du Plessis with a series of strikes before being separated by security.

Following the incident, Dricus Du Plessis took to social media and admonished Strickland’s attempt to get a head start on next month’s showdown.

“Now I understand why you have a 33% finish rate, you hit like a girl, also 20 January the security won’t be there to save your life when I’m on top,” he wrote on X.

Even Sean Strickland Has a Line He Refuses to Cross

Strickland also hit back at Du Plessis online, giving some insight into what may have been his motivation for the impromptu attack.

“I go hard on everyone I know this, izzy mouth feeding his dog, Dricus kissing his coach and grabbing his cup,” Strickland wrote. “Omally talking about sharing his wife in a podcast. You’re a man, on a world stage doing this in public And what do you pick? “You got abused as a kid ha.””

During their back-and-forth on Friday, ‘Stillknocks’ made a rather unsavory comment about Strickland’s history of growing up in an abusive home. Strickland later snapped back at Du Plessis online suggesting that using one’s past trauma as ammunition is something even he wouldn’t stoop to.

Clearly, there is a line that even Sean Strickland won’t cross. And as Dricus Du Plessis found out at UFC 296, there are consequences for doing so.

Video – Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis Brawl in the crowd at UFC 296

Sean Strickland brawl Dricus Du PlessisTensions between UFC middleweight world champion Sean Strickland and No. 2 ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis boiled over on…

Sean Strickland brawl Dricus Du Plessis

Tensions between UFC middleweight world champion Sean Strickland and No. 2 ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis boiled over on Saturday night.

A month away from their highly anticipated title tilt in Toronto, Strickland and Du Plessis were both on hand to take in the action at UFC 296. Shortly after both fighters were shown on the big screen to promote their upcoming clash at Scotiabank Arena, a brawl reportedly broke out between the two that forced event security and UFC CEO Dana White to intervene.

After being separated, Strickland could be seen leaving the arena.

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis Continue What They Started at Friday’s UFC Press Event

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis engaged in a heated verbal confrontation on Friday during the UFC Seasonal Press Conference in Las Vegas. During their back-and-forth, Strickland hurled homophobic slurs at ‘Stillknocks’ while Du Plessis made light of the reigning champion’s history of abuse by his father. Strickland later condemned the comments made by Du Plessis on social media.

Dricus Du Plessis earned his UFC title opportunity with a stunning second-round knockout against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Originally, he was expected to challenge then-champion Israel Adesanya in September, but an ankle injury forced him to decline the opportunity, paving the way for Sean Strickland to step in and shock the world against the two-time titleholder.

With ‘The Last Stylebender’ taking an extended break from fighting, Strickland will defend his title against Du Plessis at the first pay-per-view event of 2024.

Sean Strickland condemns Sean O’Malley and Dricus Du Plessis’ comments About His Abusive Childhood

Sean StricklandEven for a fighter as outspoken as Sean Strickland, there is such a thing as going too far. The…

Sean Strickland

Even for a fighter as outspoken as Sean Strickland, there is such a thing as going too far.

The last 48 hours have delivered some of the most vile trash talk in UFC history. Welterweight title challenger Colby Covington kicked things off on Thursday, making a disgusting comment about Leon Edwards’ deceased father that was quickly condemned by practically everyone.

Unfortunately, that incident merely opened the floodgates for a series of personal attacks to go down at the UFC Seasonal Press Conference on Friday evening. Taking the stage, reigning middleweight world champion Sean Strickland had it out with both Sean O’Malley and the man he’s expected to defend his title against next month at UFC 297, Dricus Du Plessis.

‘Tarzan’ first directed his attention toward O’Malley, slamming the current bantamweight titleholder for “trying to let dudes f*ck his wife.” The comment was in reference to O’Malley’s open relationship with his wife, Danya Gonzalez.

O’Malley quickly snapped back, saying “At least my dad didn’t f*ck me,” a clear dig at Strickland’s history of being abused as a child.

Later on at the press event, Strickland found himself in a heated verbal confrontation with Dricus Du Plessis. Taking a page out of Sean O’Malley’s playbook, ‘Stillknocks’ went the personal route in his attack.

“You think your dad beat the sh*t out of you? Your dad doesn’t have sh*t on me,” Du Plessis said. “Every childhood memory you have is gonna come back when I’m in there with you.”

Sean Strickland Calls O’Malley and Du Plessis’ comments an ‘utter disgrace’

Strickland simply rolled with the punches in both instances but following the event, ‘Tarzan’ took to social media and delivered a surprisingly lengthy response, condemning the comments from O’Malley and Du Pless.

“I expect nothing less from O’Malley and Dricus,” Strickland wrote on X. “Next time come at me as a man… Clearly you don’t know what that means…… I just wanna say one thing that I feel needs to be said.. There are a lot of kids out there who have been abused and molested and it’s a damn tragic thing that forever changes you. How you function, how you view the world, how you treat relationships, how you handle addiction and for someone to put you down with that level of trauma on a world stage is an utter disgrace..

“I have a big following of people who suffered trauma, molestation and I will tell you that it’s not funny to me, whatever you’ve gone through or have been through isn’t funny to me…….. I hope you all understand that these are weak men who don’t understand hardship, they don’t understand what it’s like to live with demons… Forever a struggle they will never understand.”

It’s a surprisingly sensitive approach from Strickland, a guy who carelessly hurled homophobic slurs while being bullied over his abusive past.

Dricus Du Plessis says Israel Adesanya dodged a bullet by going on hiatus: ‘I would’ve manhandled him’

Dricus Du PlessisIt’s safe to say that there is no love lost between former two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya and No….

Dricus Du Plessis

It’s safe to say that there is no love lost between former two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya and No. 2 ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis.

Following Du Plessis’ shocking second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, all signs pointed toward ‘Stillknocks’ receiving his long-awaited UFC title opportunity a short eight weeks later in The Land Down Under. Unfortunately, Du Plessis was unable to make the quick turnaround, opening the door for Sean Strickland to step in and challenge Adesanya for the 185-pound crown at UFC 293 in September.

We all know how that story ends.

After losing the middleweight title for the second time in less than a year, Adesanya announced that he would take a lengthy break from fighting after establishing himself as the most active champion in UFC history.

Du Plessis claims he would have ‘Manhandled’ Adesanya in potential clash

Speaking of Adesanay’s hiatus during an appearance on Submission Radio, Dricus Du Plessis suggested that ‘The Last Stylebender’ dodged a bullet by walking away for the time being.

“The Izzy fight is a fight where I honestly believe that I would’ve grabbed him and I would’ve manhandled him, to be honest,” Du Plessis said. I know he has good takedown defense, but I don’t think people understand the difference between myself and Israel Adesanya.

“If I would’ve grabbed him it would’ve been a very long night. Well, no, it wouldn’t have been a long night [laughs]. Obviously, his striking is good. There’s no way Israel Adesanya knocks me out,” (h/t MMA Knockout)

Instead, Du Plessis will meet newly minted middleweight champ Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January.

Should ‘Stillknocks’ come out on top, could we see Adesanya cut his vacation short to settle some unfinished business with the South African standout?

Dricus du Plessis eyes light heavyweight title fight after UFC 297 championship siege: ‘I’ve wiped out the division’

Dricus du Plessis eyes light heavyweight title fight after UFC 297 I've wiped out the division Alex PereiraAhead of his premier championship challenge under the banner of the promotion at the turn of the year at…

Dricus du Plessis eyes light heavyweight title fight after UFC 297 I've wiped out the division Alex Pereira

Ahead of his premier championship challenge under the banner of the promotion at the turn of the year at UFC 297, surging middleweight contender, Dricus du Plessis has sights already set on taking light heavyweight gold from Brazilian favorite, Alex Pereira – claiming he would have already cleared out the middleweight division.

du Plessis, the current number two ranked middleweight contender, earned his incoming title siege against the incumbent Sean Strickland with a stunning second round knockout win over former champion, Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July in the pair’s title-eliminator.

In the midst of a hugely-impressive run of six consecutive victories since landing in the Octagon three years ago, South African contender, du Plessis landed a TKO win over recent PFL MMA debutante, Derek Brunson earlier this year, which followed a third round rear-naked choke submission win over former welterweight title challenger, Darren Till a year ago.

Dricus du Plessis eyes two-weight gold win after UFC 297

And sharing his thoughts on his title challenge against Strickland, du Plessis confirmed plans to fight for light heavyweight gold – should he knock back a future challenge from arch-foe, Israel Adesanya.

“That all depends how the division opens up,” Dricus du Plessis told Submission Radio. “I would still love to fight Israel Adesanya 100 percent it would be my first choice as a defense. It would be great but I’m assuming Khamzat (Chimaev) is the guy they’re gonna try and push. So that would be cool. I do want to defend my belt before – obviously, it’s all gonna come down to who I beat and how good I make it look.”

“If I go out there and I absolutely destory Khamzat, what’s there really left?” Dricus du Plessis explained. “If I go out there and I beat Israel Adesanya after becoming champion, what is there really – it’s wiped out, the whole division. The two guys who wiped out the division were Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, and beating those two guys doesn’t really leave any room left.” 

How do you think Dricus du Plessis fares against Alex Pereira?

Dricus du Plessis opens as betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in UFC 297 title fight in January

Dricus du Plessis opens as betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in UFC 297 title fightChallenging for middleweight gold for the first time inside the Octagon, South African contender, Dricus du Plessis has opened…

Dricus du Plessis opens as betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in UFC 297 title fight

Challenging for middleweight gold for the first time inside the Octagon, South African contender, Dricus du Plessis has opened as a decent betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in their championship clash at UFC 297 on January 20. in Toronto, Canada. 

Strickland, the current undisputed middleweight champion, most recently headlined UFC 293 back in September in Sydney, Australia, turning in a shocking unanimous decision win over two-time champion, Israel Adesanya – securing one of the biggest upset wins in the history of the promotion. 

As for Dricus du Plessis, the surging number two ranked contender, earned his first crack at middleweight gold back in July, landing a stunning second round TKO win over Robert Whittaker, becoming the sole fighter other than the above-mentioned, Adesanya to defeat the former titleholder since his middleweight debut back in 2014.

Dricus du Plessis opens as favorite to beat Sean Strickland at UFC 297

And off the back of an impressive start to his run with the UFC, Dricus du Plessis who has landed six consecutive wins since his Octagon, has opened as a -140 betting favorite to beat Strickland at UFC 297 in January – with the defending champion a +115 betting underdog. 

Many markets are offering bets on Strickland’s first title defense at the end of the year against Pretoria native, du Plessis – and sites, who also offer punters the chance to play live roulette, are taking action on the undisputed middleweight championship fight. 

En route to his championship victory over Adesanya, the hugely-outspoken Strickland had landed consecutive wins over both Nassourdine Imavov, and Absupiyan Magomedov – which saw him snap a run of two consecutive losses to Jared Cannonier, and former champion, Alex Pereira – the latter of which via thunderous opening round KO. 

However, returning to the middleweight limit back in 2020, Strickland has also landed other notable wins over the likes of Uriah Hall, Brendan Allen, and Jack Hermansson. 

A former KSW and EFC championship holder, Dricus du Plessis, who holds a stoppage win over the highly-considered Croat striker, Roberto Soldic prior to his tenure in the UFC, hit the ground running in spectacular fashion back in 2020 with a knockout win over Markus Perez. 

In four real notable wins since, du Plessis has defeated Brad Tavares, former title challenger, Darren Till and perennial contender, Derek Brunson with stoppage triumphs, before landing a career-highlight knockout over former champion, Whittaker. 

Also featuring on January’s UFC 297 card in ‘The Great White North’, the organization is set to crown a bantamweight titleholder for the first time since Amanda Nunes’ retirement back in June, as contenders, Raquel Pennington, and Mayra Bueno Silva meet in a vacant title fight – taking co-main event honors.

Last time out, Pennington landed a split decision win over Ketlen Vieira, whilst a banned substance violation saw Bueno Silva’s impressive ninja choke submission win over former champion, Holly Holm overturned to an official ‘No Contest’. 

UFC 287 will also come as du Plessis first main event fight since he landed in the Dana White-led promotion, whether that be in ‘Fight Night’ billed cards or atop a flagship event. 

Who wins at UFC 297 in January: Sean Strickland or Dricus du Plessis?