South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis destroyed his opponent’s nose in a brutal title fight in Sydney on Sunday, defending his UFC middleweight title with a unanimous victory against fierce foe Sean Strickland.
With victories of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46, the 31-year-old improved his win-loss record to 23-2 and solidified his place as the best 185-pound fighter in mixed martial arts.
Du Plessis initially gained the title in January of last year when he defeated Strickland by a close split decision in Toronto, a fight that the divisive American maintained he won.
To set up the rematch, Strickland recovered with a tepid victory over Brazil’s Paulo Costa after the South African began a successful defence against Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya in August.
The first South African to win a UFC title, Du Plessis, stated, “It is nearly impossible to come in here and try to knock this man out.” I wish we could play again, but that’s not the point of the game.
“I wanted a submission, a knockout, or an absolute domination of a five-rounder. That’s what I contributed. I put my all into it,” he stated.
It was all Du Plessis this time, but the Toronto match was settled by the narrowest of margins.
He used his preferred head kicks in a measured start, landing four in the first round while Strickland retaliated with hesitant jabs.
In round two, the number of blows increased as Du Plessis ramped up the pace and delivered combinations to the face that caused blood to flow.
In a decisive round four, Du Plessis hammered home the victory because Strickland lacked urgency.
The American’s nose gushed blood from a massive right punch, and he was pushed into the cage by another.
When Du Plessis moved in for the kill in the fifth and final round, he was bothered by Strickland’s nose and tried to hit it anytime he could, but he was unable to land a knockout blow.
In a subsequent, obscene courtroom interview, the American claimed that his nose was shattered.
“I popped it back in place and kept fighting for you,” he replied. “He kicked my ass fair and square; props to him.”
The Chinese strawweight champion Zhang Weili defeated the unbeaten American opponent Tatiana Suarez to successfully defend her title for the third time in a row on the main card.
Suarez suffered numerous terrible cuts throughout the five-round bout, which was won unanimously by the fierce Zhang, who is regarded as the sport’s top pound-for-pound women’s fighter.
“I was ready for this battle. “I just concentrated on myself, even though Tatiana is really strong,” Zhang said, improving her record to 26-3.
Tallison Teixeira of Brazil defeated Justin Tafa via knockout in the heavyweight non-title fight in just 35 seconds, sending the Australian down with a massive elbow to the nose.
