Dricus Du Plessis became the new middleweight champion at UFC 297 on Saturday. He beat the popular American Sean Strickland, but by a split decision.
Recall that Strickland had surprisingly taken the belt from Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya last September. South Africa’s Du Plessis had come into the main event with a stunning Technical Knock Out win over former champion Robert Whittaker in July 2023.
The scorecard shows it was a neck and neck race, and could have gone either way: 48-47, 47-48, 48-47 in favour of Du Plessis.
In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington emerged victorious in the vacant women’s bantamweight title by unanimous decision in her fight with Mayra Bueno Silva.
Du Plessis Defeats Strickland, Emerges UFC Middleweight Champion
