Dana White revealed that he believes Sean Strickland did enough to win the UFC 297 main event. Challenger Dricus Du Plessis came away victorious on the night and claimed the middleweight title in a war against the former champion Strickland. The UFC president had a lot to say at the post-fight press conference regarding the title fight.
Dana White Shares Thoughts on UFC 297 Main Event
The main event between Du Plessis and Strickland was undeniably close. The fight went the full five rounds and had onlookers torn on who they thought won. Du Plessis got the nod from the judges via split decision, but Dana White thought it should have gone the other way.
“We were just looking at how the media had scored it and right down the middle,” White said at the press conference.
“I had it 2-2 going into the last round and I thought that Strickland won the last round. Guys who were sitting at the same table had it the other way. It was a close fight,” he added.
Despite disagreeing with the final decision, White was complimentary of both fighter’s efforts at UFC 297.
“I thought Strickland looked great in the first two rounds. The jab was f****** beautiful. You don’t see jabs like that in MMA. The jab did what it was supposed to do. Both of [Du Plessis’] eyes were swelling shut. He slowed down in the third and fourth, [and] Du Plessis kept coming forward then started mixing up takedowns and punches,” said white.
A War That Went Down to the Wire
During the full 25 minutes, both fighters left it all in the octagon. As the viewers began to score the round on X it became evident that they were split down the middle. Strickland started well, landing his jab at will and causing damage to Du Plessis’ left eye. The South African took some time to find the mark. His overhands missed and his kicks were checked, but in the second round he began to land.
Both men were reluctant to take a step back, but it was Du Plessis who dictated the pace of the fight for the most part. Du Plessis’ game plan looked messy at times, but he arguably landed the bigger shots to the head and body of Strickland and caused damage of his own as he cut the American open.
Ultimately two of the three judges scored it for Du Plessis, and a new middleweight champion was crowned at UFC 297. ‘Stillknocks’ vehemently disagreed with Dana White’s sentiments in the post-fight press conference.
He said: “Just for the record, are there some people that think I lost the fight? Dana said [I lost the fight]? Well, bull****.”
All quotes credit to mmafighting.com
After his win, Du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya. This matchup is possible, especially with Dana White suggesting that an immediate rematch may not be on the cards.
How did you score the fight between Du Plessis and Strickland? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
