TORONTO — Dricus Du Plessis is your new UFC middleweight champion.
The South African could not contain his excitement after he was on the winning side of a split decision over Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 297 on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The two 185-pounders went back and forth for 25 hard minutes in front of a passionate fan base.
Strickland had won the hearts of fight fans from the moment the fighters landed in Canada. The now-former champion was humble in defeat.
“Hats off to the new champ,” Strickland said. “Canada I (expletive) love you guys. I told you I would bleed for you and I bled for you.”
Du Plessis proved himself a gentleman all fight week. Pure class from top to bottom, Du Plessis was complimentary of Strickland’s effort to defend the title that he won at UFC 293 when he upset Israel Adesanya.
“He has a super, super strong jab,” Du Plessis said. “Every time he hits you with his jab, it feels like someone is hitting you with a rock.
Strickland out-landed Du Plessis 183-140 but the new champ was successful on six of his 11 takedown attempts.
“You are one hell of a man,” Du Plessis said to his opponent, seemingly putting an end to any animosity that had developed between the two in the build-up to this event. “Thank you for bringing the best out of me.”
The new champion also had a post-fight callout that could shape how the remainder of 2024 unfolds for this division.
“Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in the UFC so we can settle the score,” Du Plessis said.
One person likely disappointed in the judges’ decision was Drake. The superstar posted to social media earlier in the day that he had placed a $700,000 wager on Strickland to defend his title less than four months after losing a $500,000 bet that Adesanya would knock Strickland out back at UFC 293.
This was the first middleweight title fight that didn’t’ involve Israel Adesanya since Georges St-Pierre defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217 back in 2017.
Earlier on the main card, the co-main event saw Raquel Pennington usher in a new era in the women’s bantamweight division when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision.
Canadian Mike Malott was in complete control of Neil Magny until the savvy veteran flipped the script and picked up a late technical knockout victory with a mere 15 seconds remaining on the clock.
Malott’s bout was the most anticipated of the evening outside of the main event as the Canadian on the card who boasted the highest ceiling for potential.
Canadian fighters went 2-7 overall.
The fans in attendance really didn’t enjoy Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault, booing the two middleweights constantly throughout the first two rounds that resembled a hard sparring session more than an intense competition between burgeoning contenders at 185 pounds.
Curtis is nicknamed “The Action Man” yet ironically it wasn’t until the final round that either fighter upped their tempo enough to result in any meaningful action. A friend and teammate of Strickland, Curtis ended up winning a split decision over his Canadian opponent after a final round that eventually had the crowd cheering.
Russia’s Movsar Evloev edged out England’s Arnold Allen in the opening fight on the pay-per-view portion of the card to move closer to a title shot at 145 pounds. Evloev improved to 18-0 in MMA and could next face the winner of UFC 298’s main event between featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria.
