'It was going to be a war': Dricus du Plessis wins battle over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto
South Africa's 1st world champion screamed 'this is history' in honour of his homeland after fight
The hostility brewing between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis finally hit its boiling point at UFC 297 on Saturday night in Toronto.
The two clashed through five rounds, taking the bout to the distance, but in the end it was Du Plessis taking Strickland's middleweight belt after bloodying the former champ over his left eye and winning a split decision.
Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon scored the bout 48-47 in favour of Du Plessis, while Sal D'Amato had it 48-47 for Strickland.
"This is history!" Du Plessis screamed in honour of his homeland. "South Africa ... we can probably hear them from outside."
It was December when Du Plessis (21-2) referenced Strickland's abusive relationship with his father. Strickland let it be known that would not be tolerated, and violent recourse would result.
At UFC 296 in December, Strickland jumped over a row of seats and threw punches at Du Plessis — which both said was nowhere near a publicity stunt.
Nothing about the fight was anywhere near a stunt, as the two traded blows, at times severe, especially in the latter rounds.
Despite the tension leading up to fight night, Du Plessis gave Strickland (28-6) his just due afterward.
"Every time he hits you with that jab it feels like someone hit you with a rock. You are one heck of a man, thank you for bringing out the best of me tonight," Du Plessis said. "The first three rounds were give and take, but the last two, I was desperate rounds four and five."
To which Strickland later replied: "I called it from day one — it was going to be a war."
A native of California now based in Las Vegas, Strickland came into Saturday's showdown with a 15-5-0 record in the UFC — and a reputation as a loose cannon with no self-edit. The potty-mouthed Strickland came as advertised, making headlines fight week by sharing his views on everything from homosexuality and women's MMA to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and freedom of speech in Canada.
Underdog takes co-main event
The card was the UFC's first in Toronto since UFC 231 in December 2018 and the first in Canada since UFC 289 last June in Vancouver.
In another title fight, Raquel Pennington (16-9-0) beat Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1) by unanimous decision to claim the vacant women's bantamweight championship. Pennington was listed as the underdog in the match.
The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, 49-45 for Pennington (16-8-0), who lost a title shot to Brazil's Amanda (Lioness) Nunes via a fifth-round TKO at UFC 224. Bueno Silva fell to 10-3-1 with one no contest.
"It's been a long five years getting back to this," said Pennington.
The undercard featured seven Canadian fighters with two more — welterweight Mike Malott and middleweight Marc-André Barriault — on the main card.
Neil Magny (29-12-0) stopped Malott (10-2-1) at the 4:45 mark of the third round of their welterweight match.
Chris Curtis (31-10-0) took a split decision over Barriault (16-7-0) in their middleweight bout. Curtis took two scores of 30-27 Curtis, while Barriault won 29-28 on a third scorecard.
Canadians went 2-5 on the undercard with all five men losing.
In the first match on the undercard, Movsar Evloev remained undefeated (17-0-0) with a unanimous decision over Arnold Allen (19-3-0). All three judges scored it 29-28.
Evloev, who owns the second-longest active winning streak in the UFC featherweight division (7), ran his overall UFC win streak to eight straight.
Canadian shows mean streak in undercard win
Canadian bantamweight Jasmine Jasudavicius dominated Brazil's Priscila Cachoeira on the ground en route to a third-round submission win Saturday night on the undercard.
The 34-year-old from Niagara, Ont., bloodied the Brazilian on the ground in a lopsided first round then knocked her down in the second with a right to the head before administering more ground-and-pound pain. Cachoeira (12-6-0), her battered face leaking blood, tapped to an anaconda choke at 4:21 of the third round.
"I want to show how mean I am," said Jasudavicius (10-3-0), who improved her UFC record to 4-2-0.
Mission accomplished.
Feeling the love
Former NHL star P.K. Subban and UFC current flyweight champion Alexandre (The Cannibal) Pantoja were among the celebrities in the crowd. Attendance was announced as a sellout of 18,559.
Drake had promised to be there, too — and the Toronto rapper had skin in the game, posting on social media his $700,000 wager on Strickland to win.
The Scotiabank Arena crowd was loud from the get-go, greeting American flyweight Jimmy Flick — the first fighter to appear — with boos as he walked out to Drake's "Started From the Bottom." Toronto's Malcom Gordon, his opponent, got a hero's welcome.
That trend continued all night, with Canadian fighters feeling the love from the crowd, which launched into several unsolicited, obscene Justin Trudeau chants as the night wore on.
The first loud "Let's Go Canada" chant came less than three minutes into the first round as Gordon pummelled Flick on the ground. But Gordon's aggression cost him in the second as he ended on the canvas and Flick (17-7-0) finished him with an arm-triangle at 1:17 of the round for his 15th career submission win, drawing more boos.
Gordon (14-8-0) forfeited 20 per cent of his purse to Flick after weighing 1.5 pounds over the 126-pound flyweight non-title limit.
Katona suffers loss
Canadian bantamweight Brad Katona lost a unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) decision to American Garret Armfield in a close fight, the featured preliminary bout on the undercard.
Katona (15-3-0) had a strong third round, taking Armfield (11-3-0) down several times. But it was not enough.
A native of Winnipeg now fighting out of Dublin, Katona is in his second go-round with the UFC after winning "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show for a second time.
England welterweight Sam Patterson (11-2-1) made short work of Canadian Yohan Lainesse (9-3-0), choking him out at 2:03 of the first round. Lainesse, from St-Bruno, Que., has now lost three of his four UFC fights.
"If I get hold of your neck, I'm putting you to sleep. Guaranteed," said Patterson, earning his first UFC win after losing as a lightweight in his debut.
Robertson stops Viana
Canadian strawweight Gillian Robertson used her ground game to dispatch Brazil's Polyana Viana (13-7-0) via second-round TKO. Robertson (13-8-0) took the Brazilian down in both rounds, punishing her until referee Kevin McDonald stepped in at 3:12 of the round.
It marked the 16th UFC outing for Robertson, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., who now fights out of Coconut Creek, Fla. Her record in the promotion now stands at 10-6-0 (2-0-0 in Canada) and she is now tied for second-most finishes in UFC women's history (nine).
Robertson set records as a flyweight (125 pounds) for most submission wins (six) and finishes (seven) in division history before dropping down to strawweight (115 pounds) at the end of 2022.
American bantamweight Ramon Taveras won a rematch over Canadian Serhiy Sidey via a split (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) decision in an entertaining battle fought on the feet.
Taveras (10-2-0) staggered Sidey at the end of the first round and felled him in the second, with the blond Sidey's face a crimson mask. Sidey (10-2-0) kept coming and finished the round strongly but Taveras; striking was too good.
The two met in September on Dana White's Contender Series with Sidey, from Burlington, Ont., winning via first-round TKO. But most observers, including White, thought it was a premature stoppage and so the two were matched up again after Taveras recorded a 29-second KO in October on the Contender Series.
Taveras failed to make weight here, however, and forfeited 30 per cent of his purse after weighing in at 139.75 pounds, 3.75 over the bantamweight non-title limit.
American featherweight Sean Woodson (11-1-1) used his size advantage to win a split (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) decision over Charles Jourdain. The decision drew boos from the crowd and Jourdain, from Beloeil, Que., left the cage shaking his head.
At five feet nine inches tall, Jourdain (15-7-1) was giving up five inches in height and nine inches in reach and had troubled getting to his opponent, despite trying some flashy kick and spinning strikes. Woodson, who went 46-3 as an amateur boxer, showed off his striking skills and takedown defence.
Jourdain pulled guard in the dying seconds of the fight, attempting an unsuccessful guillotine choke.
Corrections
- A previous photo caption said that Sean Strickland is Canadian. In fact, he is American.Jan 21, 2024 9:36 AM ET
With files from The Associated Press
