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Photo – Sean Strickland shows off ripped physique ahead of UFC 297 grudge title fight with dricus du Plessis

Sean Strickland ripped ahead of UFC 297 title fight with Dricus du Plessis Sean Strickland looks to be in incredible shape ahead of his UFC 297 fight against Dricus Du Plessis. 2023…

Sean Strickland looks to be in incredible shape ahead of his UFC 297 fight against Dricus Du Plessis.

2023 has been an incredible year for Strickland who has completely transformed his career, from controversial contender on a two-fight losing streak to undisputed champion with a growing fanbase.

After upsetting the odds against Israel Adesanya in September a rematch seemed on the cards, but Adesanya opted to take some time away. So, No.1 contender and the original opponent meant for Adesanya for UFC 293, Du Plessis, will now challenge Strickland for the UFC’s middleweight title.

If you had told the average UFC fan at the beginning of 2023 that the next champion would be either Sean Strickland or Dricus Du Plessis, they likely would have laughed. However, come January 20, and after what should be an entertaining clash, one will be declared champion.

Sean Strickland looks in incredible shape

After moving up to middleweight in 2020, a once-weight drained and cut Strickland filled into the weight class and appeared to enjoy not partaking in a drastic weight cut. However, in a recently posted photo, the 32-year-old seems to be in the best shape he has been in since bumping up in weight.

While Strickland has been renowned for his hard work in the gym, but he could also be heading into the bout with added motivation. Beside wanting to keep the title, things turned a little personal between Strickland and Du Plessis after the latter made light of Strickland being abused by his father as a child.

Strickland would reply by calling the south African some homophobic slurs before it all came to a head at the UFC 297 event. After ushering away some nearby children, Strickland leapt at Du Plessis who was stupidly seated right behind him and struck him multiple times. The pair would have to

Who wins, Sean Strickland or Dricus Du Plessis?

Video – UFC star Sean Strickland tosses ‘Piece of fabric’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt into garbage bin

Undisputed middleweight champion, Sean Strickland claims he trained for more than 10 years to obtain a black belt in…

Undisputed middleweight champion, Sean Strickland claims he trained for more than 10 years to obtain a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – and the UFC star has tossed said belt and accolade into the garbage ahead of his return to the Octagon next year.

Strickland, the current undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he struck gold in a spectacular upset win over former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya back in September at UFC 293 in a unanimous decision victory for the American fighter.

Booked to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 297 next month in Canada, Strickland headlines the promotion’s return to ‘The Great White North’ – taking on surging incoming title chaser, Dricus du Plessis in a grudge match between the duo.

Featuring on fighter row at UFC 296 earlier this month, the hugely-outspoken Strickland leapt between seats and over Gilbert Burns’ young son to pursue du Plessis, attacking the Pretoria challenger ahead of the pair’s title fight in January.

Sean Strickland throws BJJ black belt in the bin

And on his official social media, Strickland, who rarely relies on his wrestling – offensively, at least, nor his often-overlooked Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappling game, tossed his black belt into a garbage bin.

“Over 10 years of my life wanting a piece of fabric,” Sean Strickland posted on his official X account tonight.

pic.twitter.com/eoUqZJhBZ4

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 23, 2023

Turning in a memorable 2023 ahead of the annum’s end, Strickland landed three consecutive victories this year – including September’s spectacular decision win over City Kickboxing champion, Adesanya, handing the Nigerian-Kiwi his second title fight loss in the space of a year, resulting in an unwanted record-setting display from the striking sensation.

Who wins at UFC 297 next month: Sean Strickland or Dricus du Plessis?

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

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

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.

Jan Blachowicz claims shoulder injury left him with ‘The Power of a 2-Year-Old girl’ amid UFC 297 exit

While on the sidelines awaiting surgery for a shoulder injury, Jan Blachowicz has chosen to open up about the…

While on the sidelines awaiting surgery for a shoulder injury, Jan Blachowicz has chosen to open up about the impact this injury has had on his legendary “Polish power.

Once on top of the world, it seemed as if any foe was destined to crumble against the vicious onslaught of the unstoppable “Polish power”. This is what Blachowicz’s sinister power had begun to be referred to as, and time and time again the Polish warrior never failed to let it shine.

At UFC 259, Blachowicz shut down Israel Adesanya’s attempts at becoming a double champ, and at that moment the humble warrior from Poland seemed as if he was on top of the world. However, it seems as if every great warrior has an Achilles heel, and for Blachowicz: it was his shoulder.

The shoulder injury began irritating him sometime around 2021, and this would lead to a 1-2-1 streak. He lost his light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira, had what some consider to be a fluke injury over Aleksander Rakic (because of an injury), and then most recently: lost a split decision to Alex Pereira.

Jan Blachowicz opens up about the loss of his legendary “Polish Power”

“I feel it for like three years, something like this,” Jan Blachowicz said, speaking about his shoulder injury in an interview with BJPENN.com (via MMA Mania).

“I feel pain in my shoulders, but I accept the pain. Last three months, two months, I started losing my power, my strength. 40 percent goes, I tried and do something with physiotherapy and doctors, and they tried to fix it but every training was worse,” Blachowicz continued.

“When I did wrestling, I’d hold someone and they’d just grab my hand and open it like this, too easy. We did an MRI on both shoulders because I feel pain in both of them, and I need to clean it, if I were to clean it, I can come back to training. They said after this, after a good recovery, my power will be back. I feel pain, but the pain is okay. The power, I feel like a two-year-old girl, so it’s not possible to prepare for a fight.”

This problem has kept him from fighting, as well. The injury is actually what caused the Polish warrior to cancel his rematch with Aleksander Rakic.

“I wanted to do this fight, but I cannot be ready 100 percent,” he said. “I’m just sad, but as I said, I don’t want to waste my energy thinking about what happened, I have to save this energy for surgery and recovery.”

Jan Blachowicz went on to speak about his return to MMA, and although he’d like to return faster: he admitted it would likely be summertime before fans could see him in action.

“Something like that,” Jan Blachowicz sighed. “I was hoping for the first part of the new year, but we will see. First of all, I need to do this surgery and rehab, then we can start thinking about it. I need to go to the gym and do a sparring session, I want to feel my power again and I can find a new fight.”

Do you think Jan Blachowicz will ever recapture his lost light-heavyweight title?

Jan Blachowicz is out of UFC 297 rematch with Aleksandar Rakic, will undergo shoulder surgery

Jan Blachowicz is officially out of his UFC 297 rematch with Aleksandar Rakic. The former light heavyweight announced on…

Jan Blachowicz is officially out of his UFC 297 rematch with Aleksandar Rakic.

The former light heavyweight announced on social media that a shoulder injury sustained while training has forced him to bow out of the January scrap. He will undergo surgery to repair the damage.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Blachowicz wrote on Instagram. “It’s hard to express how I feel because it’s a mixture of anger and sadness. Withdrawing from a fight due to injury is one of the most difficult decisions a fighter can make. However, sometimes there is no other option, especially when you are competing in the top five and want to put on a show at the highest possible level.

“Instead of fighting for the best shape, I fight with the pain during every training session. I did everything I could, but my shoulders need surgery. In this state, continuing preparations and entering the Octagon would be irresponsible and stupid.

“I always say that when I go into a fight, I must be 100 percent ready. I owe it to myself, my coaches, my opponent and, above all, the fans. Thank you in advance for your support! I am waiting for the date of surgery, after which rehabilitation and return to training will follow. I promise I will come back stronger!”

It’s an undeniably disappointing turn of events for Blachowicz who was intent on returning to the win column following his split decision loss against new light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, in July.

Aleksandar Rakic calls for jiri prochazka to replace jan blachowicz at UFC 297

In response to the new, Aleksandar Rakic wasted no time calling on former 205-pound titleholder Jiri Prochazka to step in and take Blachowicz’s spot.

“You can never lose a rematch when you pull out for the second time. Legendary bullsh*t,” Rakic wrote. “Let’s see if the samurai has the balls to step up on Jan. 20th.”

You can never lose a rematch when you pull out for the second time. Legendary Bullshit.

Let's see if the Samurai has the balls to step up on Jan 20th. @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite

— Aleksandar Rakic (@rakic_ufc) December 7, 2023

Prochazka gladly accepted the offer, but with him being less than a month removed from a second-round knockout loss to Alex Pereira, ‘Denisa’ is unable to make the relatively quick turnaround that Rakic is requesting. However, Prochazka did counter with an offer to meet the Austrian standout in February or March.

“I am in, but the earliest time I can be in octagon is February/March,” Prochazka wrote. “Accept?”

With Aleksandar Rakic still keen on keeping his January slot, it remains to be seen if the UFC pursues another opponent for ‘Rocket’ or pushes his next appearance back to accommodate Prochazka’s recovery.

Emanating from the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, UFC 297 will feature two massive world title fights, including the first defense of newly minted middleweight champion Sean Strickland. ‘Tarzan’ puts his 185-pound crown on the line against No. 2 ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis in the evening’s main event.

In the co-main event, Mayra Bueno Silva and Octagon veteran Raquel Pennington will battle it out for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.

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

Challenging for middleweight gold for the first time inside the Octagon, South African contender, Dricus du Plessis has opened…

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?