1705821380 UFC 297 Dricus Du Plessis wins split decision over Sean

UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis wins split decision over Sean Strickland to capture middleweight title – Yahoo Sports

TORONTO, ONTARIO – JANUARY 20: (LR) Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa defeats Sean Strickland in a UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 297 event at the Scotiabank Arena on January 20, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario.  (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)(LR) Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa beats American Sean Strickland in the middleweight championship fight during UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena on January 20, 2024 in Toronto. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Dricus Du Plessis did just enough on Saturday night to defeat Sean Strickland via split decision and capture the middleweight title at UFC 297 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Du Plessis pressed the action throughout the fight and rarely took a step back. Strickland was effective with his jab early on, but that wore off as the fight progressed. As Du Plessis became more comfortable, he began to find his range and his blitz attacks against Strickland became more effective.

Both men had Du Plessis' right eye nearly swollen shut, and Strickland, who won the title in September by winning a decision over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, had some nasty cuts on the right side of his face.

Du Plessis, who knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, also delivered some timely takedowns along the way. There were questions about his gas tank entering the fight, but all of those questions were answered in the five-round contest, which Du Plessis won with scores of 47-48, 48-47 and 48-47.

After the fight, Du Plessis called out Adesanya, with whom Du Plessis had some issues.

Main card (start time 10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV)

• Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis defeats Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
• Women's bantamweight championship: Raquel Pennington defeats Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
• Welterweight: Neil Magny (+310) defeated Mike Malott by TKO at 4:45 of the third round
• Middleweight: Chris Curtis defeats Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Featherweight: Movsar Evloev defeats Arnold Allen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Prelims (start time 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
• Bantamweight: Garrett Armfield defeats Brad Katona by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Featherweight: Sean Woodson defeated Charles Jourdain via split decision (28-29 29-28 29-28)
• Bantamweight: Ramon Tavares defeats Serhiy Sidey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Women's strawweight: Gillian Robertson defeated Polyana Viana by TKO at 3:12 of the second round

Early Prelims (Start time 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
• Welterweight: Sam Patterson defeated Yohan Lainesse via rear-naked choke at 2:03 of the first round
• Women's flyweight: Jasmine Jasudavicius defeated Priscila Cachoeira via d'arce choke at 4:21 of the third round
• Flyweight: Jimmy Flick defeated Malcolm Gordon via arm triangle at 1:17 of the second round

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