Tag: Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland Blames Headbutt For Changing the Trajectory of His UFC 297 Title Fight: ‘Sucks to Lose That Way’

Sean StricklandSean Strickland thought he got the job done at UFC 297. Stepping into his first middleweight title defense, Strickland…

Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland thought he got the job done at UFC 297.

Stepping into his first middleweight title defense, Strickland and his South African opposition, Dricus Du Plessis, delivered an entertaining five-round scrap that saw ‘DDP’ escape with a razor-close split decision. Following the fight, Strickland took to social media and seemingly blamed an illegal headbutt for changing the course of the contest.

“Well f*ck haha… man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done,” Strickland wrote on X. “Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!!! Thanks everyone who supported me!!!!!!

He echoed a similar sentiment on Instagram.

“Big thanks to everyone who supported me!!!!!!!!! Took a headbutt that split open my eye, took a couple rounds to adjust to the blood running in my eyes,” Strickland wrote. “Sucks to lose that way but this is the game! I thought I won even not being able to see out of my left eye but that’s life! Onto the next! Told you I’d bleed for you!!!!!!”

Dana White had Sean Strickland Winning the UFC 297 Headliner

Strickland was not alone in his belief that he did enough to leave The Great White North with his middleweight title intact. UFC CEO Dana White revealed that he had scored the bout in favor of Strickland while addressing members of the media, as did longtime commentator Joe Rogan who live-streamed his immediate reaction to the somewhat controversial decision.

Du Plessis was asked about the alleged infraction during the evening’s post-fight press conference, where he answered that he was not aware of any foul, accidental or otherwise.

“No, I can’t say that I did,” Du Plessis said. “It’s the first time I’m hearing of it. No, I didn’t feel a head butt during the fight. … No, I can’t remember any head butt.”

The loss snapped Strickland’s three-fight win streak, which included his dominant performance against former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya in September. Du Plessis moved to 7-0 inside the Octagon and has now won his last nine in a row.

Ex-UFC Standout Brendan Schaub Delivers Bizarre Reaction to Dricus Du Plessis’s Win Over Sean Strickland

Brendan Schaub and Joe RoganJoe Rogan was stunned by Saturday night’s UFC 297 headliner that saw Dricus Du Plessis walk away with the…

Brendan Schaub and Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan was stunned by Saturday night’s UFC 297 headliner that saw Dricus Du Plessis walk away with the middleweight world title.

Four months removed from his dominant performance against Israel Adesanya to claim the 185-pound crown, Sean Strickland returned to defend the title against the South African finisher inside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. After five entertaining rounds of back-and-forth action, Du Plessis was announced as the winner via split decision. Fighters, fans, and media members were all split down the middle with many suggesting Strickland’s striking did enough to retain his title.

That includes Rogan who live-streamed his reaction alongside former heavyweight standout Brendan Schaub and others.

“Woooow! Interesting,” Rogan said, noticeably flabbergasted by the result. “Very interesting. I wonder how the people online feel about that. Cuz you know we aren’t scoring it while we’re watching it. We’re watching it and having fun. Were we wrong?…”

Brendan Schaubs Gives Joe Rogan His Head-Scratching Assessment of Du Plessis vs. Strickland

As Rogan continued to let the result weigh on his mind, Schaub chimed in and suggested that Israel Adesanya and divisional prospect Bo Nickal would walk through both Strickland and Du Plessis inside the Octagon.

I think Izzy or Bo Nickal eats these guy’s lunch,” Schaub added.

Clearly, Schaub completely forgot about the 25-minute ass-kicking that Sean Strickland put on ‘The Last Stylebender’ in September.

With Du Plessis now sitting atop the throne in the middleweight division, many suspect that the long-awaited clash between ‘Stillknocks’ and Adesanya will be booked for some time in 2024. Whether or not that happens at UFC 300 remains to be seen, but given the mangled appearance of Du Plessis’ face following his scrap with Strickland, we’re gonna go ahead and assume that the bout will be pushed to sometime this summer.

Sportsbooks have already released betting lines for the potential showdown with Adesanya being listed as a sizeable favorite. The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag opened Adesanya as the -330 betting favorite against +270 for the underdog Du Plessis. Those numbers will undoubtedly fluctuate in both directions as we get closer to fight night.

Check out R3d Pill MMA‘s reaction to Brendan Schaub’s bizarre comment below:

Dana White Accuses Journalist of Baiting Sean Strickland with LGBTQ Question: ‘People Can Say Whatever They Want’

Dana WhiteUFC CEO Dana White fully supports his fighters’ rights to free speech. In recent years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship…

Dana White

UFC CEO Dana White fully supports his fighters’ rights to free speech.

In recent years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has seen a significant uptick in athletes taking things to unnecessarily personal levels to sell a fight. It’s not a new concept as fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor have made quite the career for themselves by engaging in a series of over-the-top confrontations with their opponents.

However, former middleweight world champion Sean Strickland has seemingly taken things to an entirely new level with his often-hilarious, yet sometimes vile commentaries on certain subjects. In particular, his stance on the LGBTQ+ community and transgender individuals. Ahead of his UFC 297 title tilt with Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland was asked about his past comments disparaging the gay community by a Canadian journalist during a pre-fight media scrum.

As expected, Strickland went into total meltdown mode, lambasting the journalist in another homophobic rant that understandably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Speaking with members of the press following Saturday’s UFC 297 card at Scotiabank Arena, Dana White was asked about the freedom he gives his athletes to say whatever they want and whether or not he has ever considered asking fighters like Strickland to “tone it down.”

In his response, White specifically accused the Canadian journalist of baiting Sean Strickland.

“I don’t try to tell anybody to do anything,” White said. “I don’t try to control any other human being in any way, shape, or form. I say it all the time. We’re in the fight business. If you get your feelings hurt that bad, you probably should ask the type of questions where you know the answer you’re going to get from Strickland. Let’s start there. If you ask him… You know who he is, and if you ask him a certain question… He was baited in that question.

“I don’t give anybody a leash, a leash. Free speech, White continued. “control what people say and tell people what to believe. I don’t f*cking tell any other human being what to say, what to think, and no leashes aren’t any of them. That’s ridiculous to say I give somebody a leash. Free speech, brother. People can say whatever they want; they can believe whatever they want.” 

Strickland came up short in his first middleweight title defense, dropping a closely contested split decision to Dricus Du Plessis. White revealed during the post-fight press conference that the promotion is not considering an immediate rematch between the two.

Dana White Accuses Journalist of Baiting Sean Strickland with LGBTQ Question: ‘People Can Say Whatever They Want’

Dana WhiteUFC CEO Dana White fully supports his fighters’ rights to free speech. In recent years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship…

Dana White

UFC CEO Dana White fully supports his fighters’ rights to free speech.

In recent years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has seen a significant uptick in athletes taking things to unnecessarily personal levels to sell a fight. It’s not a new concept as fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor have made quite the career for themselves by engaging in a series of over-the-top confrontations with their opponents.

However, former middleweight world champion Sean Strickland has seemingly taken things to an entirely new level with his often-hilarious, yet sometimes vile commentaries on certain subjects. In particular, his stance on the LGBTQ+ community and transgender individuals. Ahead of his UFC 297 title tilt with Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland was asked about his past comments disparaging the gay community by a Canadian journalist during a pre-fight media scrum.

As expected, Strickland went into total meltdown mode, lambasting the journalist in another homophobic rant that understandably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Speaking with members of the press following Saturday’s UFC 297 card at Scotiabank Arena, Dana White was asked about the freedom he gives his athletes to say whatever they want and whether or not he has ever considered asking fighters like Strickland to “tone it down.”

In his response, White specifically accused the Canadian journalist of baiting Sean Strickland.

“I don’t try to tell anybody to do anything,” White said. “I don’t try to control any other human being in any way, shape, or form. I say it all the time. We’re in the fight business. If you get your feelings hurt that bad, you probably should ask the type of questions where you know the answer you’re going to get from Strickland. Let’s start there. If you ask him… You know who he is, and if you ask him a certain question… He was baited in that question.

“I don’t give anybody a leash, a leash. Free speech, White continued. “control what people say and tell people what to believe. I don’t f*cking tell any other human being what to say, what to think, and no leashes aren’t any of them. That’s ridiculous to say I give somebody a leash. Free speech, brother. People can say whatever they want; they can believe whatever they want.” 

Strickland came up short in his first middleweight title defense, dropping a closely contested split decision to Dricus Du Plessis. White revealed during the post-fight press conference that the promotion is not considering an immediate rematch between the two.

Nate Diaz Throws Shade at Dricus Du Plessis’ Title-Winning Performance Against Sean Strickland at UFC 297

Nate DiazNate Diaz was not impressed with the show that Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis delivered in their UFC…

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz was not impressed with the show that Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis delivered in their UFC 297 headliner.

Emanating from the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, Strickland put his middleweight world title on the line for the first time since claiming it with a brilliant performance against Israel Adesanya in September. This time around he was tasked with taking out a South African finisher who has yet to suffer defeat inside the Octagon.

Through five rounds of entertaining action, both fighters lit each other up with strikes and drew blood, but it was Du Plessis who seemed to have the upper hand, mixing up his strikes with a fair amount of grappling that stifled Strickland’s offense at times. Strickland poured it on in the fifth, presumably knowing he may be down on the scorecards, but in the end, it wasn’t enough, and ‘DDP’ was announced as the winner via split decision.

Though most fans were entertained by the evening’s headliner, particularly after the event’s lackluster co-main event, there was one former UFC star who was far from amused.

TUF alumnus Nate Diaz posted a single emoji on social media, summing up his take on Saturday’s title tilt.

Fans React to Nate Diaz’s Assessment of the UFC 297 Headliner

Fight fans on X did not appear to agree with Nate Diaz’s assessment of Strickland vs. Du Plessis, with many of them throwing shade at the aging journeyman.

“Nah cmon that was a great fight”

“way more entertaining than ur last 5 fights bum”

“Get in there one more time”

“We have watched many of your fights and you have had quite a few like this”

“C’mon Nate, that was a good fight”

“Must of been watching your boxing performance against Paul again.”

“Better than you v leon”

“you were never champ journeyman”

“You are just hating bro! Go smoke marijuana and get some sleep brother.”

“you’re washed bro”

After 15 years of competing for the UFC, Nate Diaz walked away from the promotion to pursue some opportunities outside of the Octagon. Less than a year into free agency, the ‘Stockton Samurai’ signed on the dotted line for a boxing match with Jake Paul. Diaz lost the bout via unanimous decision.

He hasn’t booked a return to the ring or the cage as of yet, but recent rumors suggest that Diaz is gearing up for a boxing match with former UFC title challenger Jorge Masvidal under the Gamebred Boxing Banner.

Dricus Du Plessis Outworks Sean Strickland, Captures Middleweight Title via Split Decision – UFC 297 Highlights

Dricus Du PlessisThe UFC has a new middleweight world champion and his name is Dricus Du Plessis. After scoring six straight…

Dricus Du Plessis

The UFC has a new middleweight world champion and his name is Dricus Du Plessis.

After scoring six straight victories, ‘Stillknocks’ stepped into his first main event at UFC 297 on Saturday night against the promotion’s unlikely 185-pound king, Sean Strickland. As expected, Strickland put his jab on display early, lighting up Du Plessis in the opening round and causing some damage to the South African’s left eye. Strickland also did a fantastic job of checking the all-important leg kicks that ‘DDP’ often uses to set up his brutal body attacks.

Needing to make some adjustments in the second stanza, Du Plessis put his wrestling skills to use, dragging Strickland down to the canvas multiple times. Though ‘DDP’ was unable to keep Strickland on the canvas for long, it appeared to be sapping the champ’s energy as the fight moved into the later rounds.

Strickland turned up the heat in the fifth and final round, but not before giving up the third and fourth rounds to Du Plessis on two of the three judges’ scorecards. That ultimately made all the difference after the 25-minute affair was in the books.

Official Result: Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) to win the UFC middleweight world championship.

Interestingly, fight fans on Verdict were not entirely in agreement with the judges, favoring Strickland by the narrowest of margins.

Check Out Highlights From Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297: