It’s official: we have a world champion!
The braai-fires in South Africa will probably be lit early today and especially in Pretoria they will burn extra high, because after all the tension and anticipation there is reason to celebrate – we have a new world champion.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dricus du Plessis from Pretoria… he is the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion!
In a fight that enjoyed unprecedented international publicity beforehand, Pretoria’s MMA superstar, Dricus du Plessis, beat the American, Sean Strickland, early Sunday morning (SA time) with a split points decision over five rounds to take the latter’s title and be crowned as the new UFC middleweight champion.
me watching Strickland vs Du Plessis fight here!
🔴HD 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤1⃣ https://t.co/bYIu6uMig2
UFC 297 live results — Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis: Updates, fight card,#UFC297 #StricklandvsDuPlessis
[Tune in NOW on @ufcstreamsfr Free📺]pic.twitter.com/ybVL5hBPRS— MMA Streams | Crackstreams | Reddit UFC streams (@ufcstreamsfr) January 21, 2024
The two men fought like true Titans for the full five rounds of five minutes each and Strickland showed why most of his fights in this sport so far have resulted in points decisions. He may not have the technical ability of Du Plessis and other top fighters, but he is as tough as nails.
Du Plessis was on the attack from the start and he hunted his opponent in the octagon throughout the fight.
Although Strickland was able to avoid the knockout, he endured a lot of punishment and since the third round his left eye socket was bleeding badly. It had to be intensively treated by his helpers after each round. Du Plessis himself received a blow on the left eye early in the fight, but his eye only started to swell and did not bleed.
#AndNew @dricusduplessis #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/j4W7x1Rq21
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 21, 2024
Du Plessis was the one to try various techniques throughout the fight. Although Strickland was mostly able to avoid his dangerous kicks, a few did hurt. The South African is known as a very dangerous fighter when the action goes to the floor of the octagon and he downed his opponent at least six times with success, but Strickland showed experience by escaping this danger.
Just before the dawn of the final round, TV viewers could clearly hear that Strickland’s helpers were aware that he had to do something drastic, as he was behind on the judges’ score cards. Although he tried to step up his performance, Du Plessis did the same and still remained the aggressor.
Dricus Du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya 👀 #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/duH3QNaZ79
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2024
In the end, two of the judges awarded the fight to Du Plessis with scores of 48/47, while the third judge’s decision was the same score, but in favor of Strickland.
It is not known exactly when Du Plessis will return to South Africa, but he will certainly be welcomed back with great fanfare when he does. This hard-working and jovial boy from Pretoria has immortalized his name in the annals of history and after this achievement will probably now be one of the most famous and popular South Africans on the planet. He deserves the freedom of the city after this.
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