Du Plessis retains middleweight title in controversial split decision over Strickland

Dricus du Plessis walked out of UFC 297 still holding the middleweight title, but the path there was narrow enough that it split the judges themselves. Two of the three officials scored the fight for the South African; one did not. The scorecard that favored Sean Strickland—the one from judge Sal D'Amato—has become the one many fans believe got it right, turning what should have been a clear victory into a decision that will be debated in gyms and online forums for weeks.

The fight itself told two different stories depending on which rounds you were watching. Strickland came out with a jab that was, by all accounts, exceptional. He controlled the early rounds with it, snapping it repeatedly, and the damage accumulated visibly—Du Plessis's eyes began to swell. The American was the more comfortable fighter in the opening exchanges, dictating range and pace while Du Plessis struggled to close distance. When the champion did manage to take Strickland down, nothing came of it; they'd return to standing, and Strickland would reassert himself with that same methodical jab work.

But the middle rounds belonged to Du Plessis. He began moving forward with more intent, mixing in takedown attempts with his striking, and while he wasn't overwhelming Strickland, he was doing enough to shift momentum. The American, meanwhile, had slowed. Whether it was the pace, the accumulation of exchanges, or simply the nature of a close fight, Strickland was no longer the dominant force he'd been early.

Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon both saw it the same way: Strickland took rounds one and five, Du Plessis took rounds two, three, and four. That scorecard gave the title to the champion. Sal D'Amato saw it differently. He gave Strickland rounds one, three, and five—essentially crediting him with the opening, the middle, and the finish—while awarding Du Plessis only rounds two and four. Under that scoring, Strickland would have retained his belt.

UFC president Dana White offered his own read afterward, and it aligned more closely with D'Amato's card. White said he had the fight at 2-2 going into the fifth round and believed Strickland won that final frame. He praised Strickland's jab work explicitly, noting that it was the kind of technique you rarely see in mixed martial arts and that it had done its job—both of Du Plessis's eyes were visibly compromised. White acknowledged the closeness of the contest but also made clear his belief that Strickland should have kept his title. "You have got to take it from the champion," White said, suggesting that in fights this tight, the burden should fall on the challenger.

Strickland himself took to social media to express his frustration, though the full weight of his statement wasn't detailed in the immediate aftermath. The sense was clear: he felt robbed. He'd come to fight, he'd executed a game plan, and he'd lost a decision he believed he'd won.

What happens next is already being shaped by Du Plessis's actions inside the cage. Immediately after his hand was raised, he called out Israel Adesanya, the former middleweight champion who has history with the South African. Du Plessis told Adesanya to get back into the UFC so they could settle their score. That callout, combined with the controversial nature of the decision, has led some observers to wonder whether the judges' scorecards were influenced by the desire to set up a marquee matchup. Whether that's fair speculation or not, the effect is the same: the middleweight division is now wide open with multiple compelling storylines. A rematch between Strickland and Du Plessis is possible. A fight between Adesanya and Du Plessis looms as a genuine draw. Even Khamzat Chimaev, the welterweight contender, threw his name into the conversation, calling out Du Plessis for a title shot at UFC 300.

But none of that changes what happened on the scorecard. Two judges saw Du Plessis as the winner. One did not. And a significant portion of the audience agrees with the one.