Sean Strickland sends a message to Dricus Du Plessis following UFC 297: “The belt they gave you will never make you a champion”

By Susan Cox - January 22, 2024

Sean Strickland has sent a message to Dricus Du Plessis following UFC 297.

Dricus Du Plessis, Sean Strickland, UFC 297, Results, UFC

It was just this past Saturday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that saw Sean Strickland (28-6 MMA) take on Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA) in the main event middleweight title bout.

The result was a split decision victory for Du Plessis, making the 30-year-old the new UFC middleweight champion.

It was ‘Tarzan’s first title defense since defeating Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA) in September of last year at UFC 293.

Du Plessis came into the bout with 8 consecutive wins in the Octagon, and now he’s raised that record to nine.

Strickland, taking to ‘Instagram‘ posted a short video of the fight, along with a picture of his stitched-up eye and the following comments:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sean Strickland (@stricklandmma)

“I didn’t take the cowards way out and tell the doctor I couldn’t see and got a no contest…. The only reason why you took a round from me is because I couldn’t see… I won that fight; the world knows I won that fight……. The belt they gave you will never make you a champion, enjoy….”

“They had to stitch through muscle to get it closed.”

“Thank you to everyone your support has really kept my head up high through all this, grateful forever.”

Well, it’s not surprising that Strickland is claiming he ‘won that fight’. UFC CEO Dana White also believed Strickland won the fight, but the judges disagreed, giving the nod to the South African.

As for what is next for the new champion, speaking from the Octagon, Du Plessis said:

“There was another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine, now I have your shine. He didn’t get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in the cage so we can settle the score.”

Would you like to see Du Plessis vs Adesanya next?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!


Topics:

Dricus du Plessis Sean Strickland UFC UFC 297