The UFC kicked off 2024 with the first PPV card of the year in Toronto with UFC 297, with the main event featuring a title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. The fight went the distance and was decided by the judges’ scorecards. Unfortunately, as is the case pretty often, when a fight goes to the judges’ scorecards, it often leaves fans divided on the result. Needless to say, the final of the main event at UFC 297 evoked strong reactions from fans. A fan page on Instagram shared a post with the final punch statistics from the fight.
The post showed that Strickland landed more significant shots in four of the five rounds. In total, Strickland landed 183 total strikes compared to 140 from Du Plessis. ‘Tarzan’ also landed 173 significant strikes compared to 137 by Du Plessis. However, Du Plessis secured a few takedowns, which seems to have swayed the judge’s decision. The final scorecards revealed that two of the three judges awarded rounds two three and four to Strickland. Needless to say, the fans were extremely divided on the final results. Here are some of the best reactions from the fans.
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One fan said, “So y’all giving ddp the win for taking down Sean and getting nothing accomplished with those few take downs. Then being a human punching bag?”
Another fan added, “Political BS”
“We can all at least blame Drake for betting on Sean”– commented a fan, blaming Drake for his massive wager on Strickland.
Another fan commented, “Clearly they wanted Sean Cancelled”
“South Africa needs a poster boy…shit like this makes me think it’s all rigged for money”– commented a fan.
While Du Plessis has his next target in mind, there is a big question mark surrounding what is next for Sean Strickland.
What lies next for former champion Sean Strickland?
Unfortunately for Strickland and his fans, he will be out for a significant period. ‘Tarzan’ sustained a few serious cuts during his fight, which will take a long time to heal. Therefore, we will most likely see Strickland return to action towards the second half of the year. At this point in time, there are no clear opponents that stand out for Strickland to fight. If Adesanya falls short against Du Plessis, a fight between the two could make sense.
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Additionally, Strickland can also be the second fight at middleweight for Chiamev, with the winner being next in line for a title shot. While the next fight is not exactly clear at this point, what is certain is that there are some extremely exciting matchups awaiting fans in the middleweight division.
