UFC CEO Dana White shared his opinion on the middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, in which the South African fighter won by split decision to become the division’s new champion.
“I counted 2-2 after four rounds, and I think Strickland won the last round,” the head of the organization said at a press conference following the UFC 297 event held in Toronto. “The guys who were sitting next to me counted the other way, so it was a really close fight.”
“I think Strickland looked good in the first two rounds and his jab was great – you don’t see a jab like that very often in MMA. That jab did the job – both of Du Plessis’ eyes were shot up and swimming. Shawn slowed down in the third and fourth rounds, and Dricus kept coming forward, alternating between translations and punches”
“I thought the fifth round would show who wanted to win more and both guys picked up a little bit, but I’m still convinced that in fights like this you have to take the belt away from the champion with confidence”
However, White made it clear that Strickland shouldn’t expect an immediate rematch.
“It was a close fight and I’m sure eventually these two will fight again, but talk of an immediate rematch is premature.”
The UFC executive also responded to a question about whether or not Dricus Du Plessis could make a title defense against Israel Adesanya or Hamzat Chimaev at the UFC 300 anniversary event on April 13 in Las Vegas.
“We’ll clarify that next week and make an announcement. We have a main event for the UFC 300 tournament and we will announce it soon.”
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/33709-reaktsiya-dana-uajta-na-rezultat-boya-striklenda-i-dyu-plessi.html?rand=19907
