TORONTO — The budding animosity between Sean Strickland and Doricus du Plessis finally reached a boiling point at UFC 297 on Saturday night.
The two fought for five rounds in a close fight, but in the end du Plessis bled out the former champion's left eye and took Strickland's middleweight belt, winning by split decision.
Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon scored the bout 48-47 in favor of du Plessis, while Sal D'Amato scored it 48-47 in favor of Strickland.
“This is history!” du Plessis (21-2) exclaimed, praising his country. “South Africa…you can probably hear them from outside. That country is amazing.”
Du Plessis first mentioned Strickland's abusive relationship with his father in December. Mr. Strickland made it known that this would not be tolerated and that he may resort to violent measures.
At UFC 296 in December, Strickland jumped over a row of seats and threw a punch at Du Plessis, but both men said it was far from a publicity stunt.
The match was nothing close to a stunt, as both men traded blows, both landing heavy blows, especially in the later rounds.
Despite the nerves leading up to the night's game, du Plessis then gave Strickland (28-6) the points he expected.
“Every time he hits a jab, it feels like someone hit you with a stone. You're a really great guy, thank you for bringing out the best in me tonight,” said du Plessis. “The first three rounds were give and take, but the last two, the fourth and fifth rounds, were frantic.”
Strickland later responded: “I knew from day one there was going to be a war.”
On FanDuel, the battle was decided with both players priced at -108. This means that for a bettor to win his $100 he needs to bet $108.
Raquel Pennington (16-9-0) defeated Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1) by unanimous decision in the co-main event to win the vacant women's bantamweight title.
Pennington was listed as the underdog for this match.
Neil Magny (29-12-0) stopped Mike Malott (10-2-1) at the 4:45 mark of the third round of their welterweight bout.
Chris Curtis (31-10-0) defeated Marc-Andre Barrio (16-7-0) by split decision in a middleweight bout. Barrio won 29-28 with three scorecards, 30-27 for Curtis with two scores.
In the first match of the undercard, Movsar Evloev defeated Arnold Allen (19-3-0) by unanimous decision to remain undefeated (17-0-0).
All three judges gave it a score of 29-28. Evloev, who has the second-longest active winning streak in the UFC featherweight division (7 straight wins), extended his total UFC winning streak to 8 straight wins.
