Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland raised the entropy of the fighting community even before their fight at UFC 312 commenced. Of course, it was the verbal battle that excited the fighting realm. However, their previous bout was engulfed in a bit of drama. Strickland has been claiming that the only reason he lost the bout at UFC 297 was because DDP allegedly headbutted him in the face, which led him to bleed through his eyes. But the middleweight champion decided to give his opponent a reality check.
The pre-fight press conference for UFC 312 commenced with a reporter asking Du Plessis if his desire for the rematch revolved around him trying to erase all the drama engulfing Strickland vs. Du Plessis 1. ‘Stillknocks’ replied, “I didn’t just say that I won the fight. The judges said that I won the fight. Sure, rematch was the next one up.”
However, he claimed that he wanted a fight against Khamzat Chimaev next. But he was ready to go up against ‘Tarzan’ as well. He continued, “I would have preferred that Khamzat fight. But he was the one and there we go.” The last time the duo battled against each other, they were left completely bloodied. It was nothing short of an immersive war. Even the judges were left in disagreement, ending the fight in a split decision victory for Du Plessis. But what did the South African champion expect from the rematch?
Du Plessis said, “I think you can expect the war once again. Absolutely. Sitting with one tough guy, sitting with another guy that will never give up. Two guys going forward trying to k-ll each other. I mean, what else do you want? Isn’t that the perfect fight?”
But let’s take a closer look at the drama that the reporter was talking about. It was true that both the fighters were completely bloodied by the end of the fight. However, Sean Strickland continued to cry out that it was all because of the headbutt. And now, DDP has come forth with the perfect response.
Dricus Du Plessis addresses the headbutt allegations by Sean Strickland
During the media day for UFC 312, a reporter asked the former middleweight champion to talk about his loss at UFC 297. Strickland replied, “That only happened because that dirty f–ing Dutchman hit me with a headbutt. You know how it is? Like how much blood you got running through your eyes? It would have been an easy fight if it wasn’t for that.”
But when Dricus Du Plessis was asked to react to Strickland’s words, he came forth with an explanation of what happened, once again. He said that it was his right hand that did the damage to Strickland’s eye. No doubt, DDP has a strong right fist. And it connected with Strickland’s eye multiple times in the 5 round fight. On top of that, their heads rubbed together while grappling, which is pretty natural during intense fights.
Nevertheless, come UFC 312, and we’ll witness the rematch between the two middleweight beasts. What are your thoughts on the rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland? Do you think the middleweight champion can retain his throne at UFC 312? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post “I Would Have Preferred Khamzat Fight”- Dricus Du Plessis Reality Checks Sean Strickland to His Face at UFC 312 appeared first on EssentiallySports.