Frequently, the decisions made by judges at UFC events spark a wide range of opinions, and last Saturday’s UFC 297 main event in Toronto, Canada, was no exception.
In a hard-fought battle for the promotion’s middleweight championship, South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis emerged victorious by split decision, securing the title previously held by his opponent, Sean Strickland.
In the aftermath of the bout, the prevailing sentiment within the MMA community over the past couple of days suggests that Strickland claimed the first and fifth rounds, while Du Plessis secured the victory by taking three of the rounds — leaving the closely contested second round as the pivotal factor.
MMA Decisions, a media scoring aggregator, indicates that reporters’ assessments of the fight were nearly evenly divided, with a slight majority favoring Du Plessis by a three-rounds-to-two margin.
However, UFC CEO Dana White, addressing the media, admitted to being in the minority camp with his assessment. White expressed the belief that Strickland had done enough to win the decision.
“We were just looking at how the media had scored it and right down the middle,” White responded to The Mac Life’s question. “I had it 2-2 going into the last round, and I thought that Strickland won the last round. Guys who were sitting at the same table had it the other way. It was a close fight.”
White praised Strickland’s performance in the early rounds, highlighting the effectiveness of his jab. He noted Strickland’s visible success as both of Du Plessis’s eyes were swollen shut.
However, White observed a slowdown in Strickland’s pace in the third and fourth rounds while Du Plessis maintained forward momentum.
“I had it even going to the fifth round,” White stated. “And was like, ‘This is the round … see who wants it.’ They both started to turn it up a little bit. It’s just one of those tight fights. But, I’m also one of these guys … I believe you have to take it from the champion.”
In response to White’s comments, Du Plessis had a succinct reply to his boss’s assessment: “Dana said I lost the fight? Well, bullshit.”
