Sean Strickland believes a headbutt caused a significant cut in his UFC 297 fight with Dricus Du Plessis.
Strickland put the UFC Middleweight Championship on the line against Du Plessis this past Saturday night. Fans witnessed five rounds of exciting action, and it even ended with both men swinging heavy leather. At one point in the fight, Strickland suffered a cut and blood was trickling down one side of his face. The fight went the distance and Du Plessis was awarded the split decision, and the UFC middleweight title.
Strickland feels the cut was caused by a headbutt, but DDP isn’t so sure.
Sean Strickland & Dricus Du Plessis Disagree On “Headbutt”
Sean Strickland took to his X account to say that he felt he suffered from a clash of heads during the fight.
Well fuck haha… man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done. Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!!! Thanks everyone who supported me!!!!!!
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) January 21, 2024
“Well f*ck haha… man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done,” Strickland wrote. “Blood and all!!! Onto the next one. Thanks everyone who supported me!!!!!!”
Du Plessis was asked about the comment during the UFC 297 post-fight press conference and he had the following to say (via MMAFighting):
“No, I can’t say that I did,” Du Plessis said. “It’s the first time I’m hearing of it. No, I didn’t feel a head butt during the fight. … No, I can’t remember any head butt.”
UFC CEO Dana White was asked during the presser if an immediate rematch between Strickland and Du Plessis is possible. While Dana didn’t commit to an immediate rematch, he expressed confidence in that fight happening again some day.
Du Plessis is hoping to settle a grudge with Israel Adesanya next. Adesanya is on hiatus and Ariel Helwani reports that he’s been told “Izzy” won’t be ready for UFC 300. Earlier this month, the former two-time UFC middleweight champion revealed he had an undisclosed injury and was hoping to return to full-time training by late February.
