Du Plessis takes UFC middleweight belt from Strickland

MANILA, Philippines – Sean Strickland bombed out in his first middleweight title defense when he surrendered the title belt to Dricus Du Plessis in UFC 297 last Sunday, January 21, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Du Plessis won via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to wrest the title in his first try. This is his third title belt, having won the (South African) Extreme Fighting Championship welterweight title as well as the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki promotion (in Poland).

Strickland began the fight by managing range and working behind his jab, but as the fight progressed, Du Plessis started finding his range and landing heavier shots, mixing in the occasional takedown to keep the champion off balance.

The acrimony between Strickland and Du Plessis began when the former defeated former champion Israel Adesanya in UFC 293. Within seconds of Strickland stripping Adesanya of the belt, Du Plessis entered the Octagon and called out Strickland, who took affront to the South African’s challenge.

Du Plessis was in the midst of a six-match win streak in the UFC, including eight overall.

After five grueling rounds, Du Plessis had his hand raised with the unanimous decision. 

"This is history for South Africa! I honestly thought with the takedowns that I made sure in every round. I could feel it was a close fight. The first two rounds were give and take, but the last two rounds I knew. Who says 'This guy's not a five round fighter'?! What did I tell you?! Sean Strickland, you said 'To the death'. I didn't quite get there, but you are one hell of a man," said Du Plessis.

Du Plessis improved his record to 21-2 while Strickland fell to 28-6.

The fight was declared Fight of the Night, with both fighters being awarded a $50,000 bonus.

In the co-main event of UFC 297, Raquel Pennington is the new women’s bantamweight champion, turning in a tenacious, grimy effort to outwork Mayra Bueno Silva over five rounds. 

After coming up short in her first bid to claim UFC gold, “Rocky” made the most of her second opportunity. Bueno Silva threatened with a rear-naked choke early, but as the fight progressed, Pennington maintained her output as Bueno Silva faded. 

Said Pennington post-win, "It feels surreal. It's been a long five years getting back here. I expected to come out here and do a lot more, but a fight is a fight and Mayra was tough.”

She added, "Everyone who is chasing a dream, and people are saying 'You're not good enough', stay believing, because that's exactly what I did."

The UFC is shown live in the Philippines every Sunday on the Premier Sports Channel on Sky and Cignal as well as on the Blast TV streaming application.