Dricus du Plessis has defeated American Sean Strickland in their middleweight title fight in Toronto at UFC 297 to become South Africa’s first UFC champion.
Du Plessis triumphed in the highly anticipated middleweight title fight, with judges scoring the bout 48-47 in his favour.
The South African, competing in his first five-round fight for his inaugural UFC title, emerged victorious after a hard-fought battle.
In the build-up to Saturday’s event, Strickland made homophobic and transphobic comments and was also highly critical of women’s mixed martial arts.
On the night, he had success with his jab in the early rounds and landed more strikes than Du Plessis, but the South African cut Strickland’s eye in the fourth. Strickland finished strongly and the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.
“This is history,” said Du Plessis, 30, who was in tears after the fight and later called out Adesanya.
Du Plessis’ impressive rise to the championship adds another feather to his cap. Making his UFC debut in October 2020, the South African needed only six fights to prove he was ready for the opportunity, etching his name in history as South Africa’s first UFC world champion.
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