UFC

UFC 297 results: Dricus Du Plessis new MW champ, defeats Sean Strickland by decision!

Publicerat

21 januari 2024

Dricus Du Plessis Sean Strickland UFC 297 MMA Frontkick

Image via UFC

The first UFC pay-per-view show of 2024 is in the books as UFC 297 just wrapped up in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada with American middleweight champ Sean Strickland taking on South African contender Dricus Du Plessis in the main event.

HERE WE GO 🏆 #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/FjFUA39GRK
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

The fighters were extremely evenly-matched and the championship bout ended up going the distance, with Du Plessis becoming the new champ after five hard rounds after taking home a razor-thin split decision victory.

"Who said this guy's not a five-round fighter?!" 😤
🏆🇿🇦 @DricusDuPlessis proving all the doubters wrong with a world title going back to South Africa! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/yb4DZcVL2a
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

Strickland used his snappy jab as well as leg kicks and push kicks to the body, while also displaying solid defense. However, the challenger Du Plessis put constant pressure on the champ and while it wasn’t always pretty, he did land some pretty good strikes and also mixed in his wrestling from time to time.

How things can change in just a calendar year… 😳
World champ 🏆 @SStricklandMMA & @DricusDuPlessis throwing down for the middleweight crown! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/87EBvJtcNH
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

Both fighters did some damage to each other with Strickland getting cut over his eye while Du Plessis got a swollen eye. Looking at the stats, most of the rounds were very close with similar number of strikes in most of the rounds.

TO THE VERY END. 😤
These boys kept on swinging for the gold, who took it for you!? #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/jUApRP4OdD
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

In the end, the official scores were 48-47 Sean Strickland as well as a couple of 48-47 scores to Dricus Du Plessis who’s now the new UFC middleweight champion.

SOUTH AFRICA HAS A WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆
🇿🇦 @DricusDuPlessis is the best middleweight walking the planet! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/Le5kKPXwoy
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

The accolades just keep stacking up for the NEW middleweight champ, 🏆🇿🇦 @DricusDuPlessis! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/lUOjcqwC6a
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

#UFC297 Official Scorecard: Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis 👇
All Scorecards ➡️: https://t.co/Dgf6RIXYJN pic.twitter.com/RdzXOrtCV6
— UFC News (@UFCNews) January 21, 2024

UFC 297: Official results for Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis and more

In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington defeated Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision to capture the vacant women’s bantamweight championship.

Six years after coming up short, Rocky works her way back to championship gold!
🏆 @RockyPMMA is the NEW bantamweight champion of the world! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/BK7rzZIpwL
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

Furthermore, top 15 ranked veteran Neil Magny stopped Canadian prospect Mike Malott by third-round TKO in an incredible comeback victory on the main card.

GASSED HIM OUT! 😮‍💨
💢 @NeilMagny with the veteran performance to turn Malott back from the rankings! #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/6HZl9BRVjO
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 21, 2024

Check out the official UFC 297 results down below!

Main card:

Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
Raquel Pennington def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45) – to win vacant
Neil Magny def. Mike Malott via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:45
Chris Curtis def. Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision (30-27, 28–29, 30-27)
Movsar Evloev def. Arnold Allen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Prelims:

Garrett Armfield def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sean Woodson def. Charles Jourdain via split decision (29-28, 28–29, 29-28)
Ramon Taveras def. Serhiy Sidey via split decision (29-28, 28–29, 29-28)
Gillian Robertson def. Polyana Viana via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:12
Sam Patterson def. Yohan Lainesse via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:03
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Priscila Cachoeira via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 3, 4:21
Jimmy Flick def. Malcolm Gordon via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:17

UFC 297 post-fight bonuses: