“They couldn’t beat him, couldn’t cancel him, so they robbed him” – Sean Strickland’s ERA as champion after war with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297; fans heartbroken 

After a short exciting championship run, Sean Strickland loses the title to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297.

“They couldn’t beat him, couldn’t cancel him, so they robbed him” – Sean Strickland’s ERA as champion after war with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297; fans heartbroken 

Dricus Du Plessis dethrones Sean Strickland in UFC 297 to become the UFC middleweight champion. (via X-UFC)

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis went head-to-head at UFC 297 in Canada. After heated arguments and a public brawl before the fight, the two middleweights settled their grudge inside the octagon. As such, ‘Stillknocks’ managed to edge a razor-close split decision win. With this, the era of Strickland’s championship reign came to an end.

At the beginning of the fight, Sean Strickland found his grove and let his jab do the work. However, Dricus Du Plessis made the necessary adjustments and fired back from the second round. As such, the contest went back and forth, and both the fighters left it all in the UFC octagon. Finally, the scorecards read ‘Stillknocks’ as the winner since two judges favored him 48-47 while only one judge gave it to Strickland 48-47.

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Dricus Du Plessis became the first South African UFC champion with this championship win. As such, his victory was greatly celebrated in his home country. Also, ‘Stillknocks’ had his family in the octagon to celebrate his title win. As for Sean Strickland, although he lost, fans expressed their support for him.

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Dricus Du Plessis remained undefeated in the UFC and extended the win streak to seven. As such, after the title win, he called out his old nemesis, Israel Adesanya, to settle their beef in the cage. Previously, Adesanya lost his fight and middleweight title to Sean Strickland in UFC 293. Now, it set up a thrilling triangular rivalry between the three. The trash-talks in the past remain incredible, and the fight fans look forward to what happens in the future. How Adesanya responds to the callout is to be seen.

Fans react to Dricus Du Plessis’ win over Sean Strickland in UFC 297

Ahead of the matchup in UFC 297, it was visible that many fans favored Sean Strickland to win the fight against Dricus Du Plessis. Even the Canadian fans sided alongside Strickland and cheered for him. However, they were all let down as ‘Stillknocks’ reigned victorious over Strickland to claim the middleweight title.

Dricus Du Plessis earns a split decision win over Sean Strickland in UFC 297
Dricus Du Plessis earns a split decision win over Sean Strickland in UFC 297 (The Citizen)

Dricus Du Plessis won against Sean Strickland on the scorecards after a closely contested bout. Since many loved Strickland’s era as the champion, they took to X to express their disappointment. As such, here are some interesting fan reactions:

https://twitter.com/dituaes/status/1748958349649936843

Many fans instantly argued over the decision and claimed it was a robbery. However, a few acknowledged the fight was a close one and could’ve gone either way. As such, they expressed sadness that their favorite fighter, Sean Strickland, lost the fight. But, a few got excited about seeing a new champion and openly welcomed the matchup of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.

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