Dominant Dricus defends UFC title in epic fight

Dricus du Plessis has successfully defended his UFC middleweight title with a dominant win over Sean Strickland.

09-02-25 08:18

in MMA

Dricus du Plessis is still the UFC champ. Image: Free Malaysia Today

When Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland met for the first time, it was the South African who memorably claimed the UFC title with a narrow win where little separated the two fighters.

However, in Sunday’s rematch, Du Plessis proved just how far he has come as a fighter after claiming a unanimous victory over Strickland after this time dominating through all five rounds.

Perhaps the most notable moment from the fight came midway through the battle when Du Plessis broke the nose of Strickland with a brutal punch.

It seemed highly likely that the South African champ would finish the fight right there and then, but his American opponent battled on to the distance despite blood streaming from his face for the remainder of the fight.

Ultimately, it was clear that Du Plessis was far superior over all five rounds, and there could be no debate over the end result as 31-year-old defended his title for the second time.

The first three rounds were competitive, but largely favoured the champion, as Du Plessis frequently landed the heavier blows as the two men battled exclusively on the feet. It was in the fourth that a clean right hand exploded Strickland’s nose, leaving his face smeared in blood heading back to the corner, before the South African continued to pick away at the challenger over the final five minutes to further solidify the result.

When the scores were read, they all favoured Du Plessis, with “Stillknocks” earning his ninth UFC win in as many starts and 11th consecutive win overall, moving to 23-2 for his career with the victory.

With things between these two settled, it will be interesting to see what comes next for the surging champion, as both Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov loom.

UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland 2 Results

Dricus Du Plessis defeats Sean Strickland by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
Zhang Weili defeats Tatiana Suarez by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
Tallison Teixeira defeats Justin Tafa by TKO (strikes) at 0:35 of Round 1
Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Jake Matthews defeats Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Gabriel Santos defeats Jack Jenkins by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:06 of Round 3
Tom Nolan defeats Viacheslav Borshchev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Wang Cong defeats Bruna Brasil by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aleksandre Topuria defeats Colby Thicknesse by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rongzhu defeats Kody Steele by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Micallef defeats Kevin Jousset by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Quilland Salkilld defeats Anshul Jubli by KO (right hand) at 0:19 of Round 1