Strickland vs Plessis

Who won Strickland vs Plessis?

Dricus Du Plessis beat Sean Strickland by split decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 297, on Saturday 20th January 2024 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

The scorecards were announced as 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 in favor of the winner Dricus Du Plessis.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Middleweight championship.

Strickland vs Plessis stats

Sean Strickland stepped into the octagon with a record of 28 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Dricus Du Plessis made his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 10 by submission.

This was Sean Strickland's 23rd fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Dricus Du Plessis marked his 9th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Sean Strickland's UFC record stood at 16-7-0, while Dricus Du Plessis' came in at 9-0-0.

The stats suggested Plessis had a slight advantage in power over Strickland, with a 45% knock out percentage over Strickland's 39%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Plessis had a massive advantage over Strickland, boasting a 50% submission rate over Strickland's 14%.

Sean Strickland was the older man by 3 years, at 34 years old.

Strickland was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 11 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 5 years and 4 months earlier than Plessis, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 43 more professional rounds, 99 to Plessis' 56.

Strickland vs Plessis form

Strickland had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Alex Pereira at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Jack Hermansson at UFC Fight Night on 5th February 2022 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Uriah Hall at UFC Vegas 33 on 31st July 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Krzysztof Jotko at UFC Vegas 25 on 1st May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He was victorious against Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 14 on 14th November 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Plessis had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3opponents and going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on 8th July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Derek Brunson at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Darren Till at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by submission in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against Brad Tavares at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had won against Trevin Giles at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Dricus Du Plessis had been fighting more than Sean Strickland.

Going to this contest, Sean Strickland had last fought 2 years, 10 months and 5 days ago, while Dricus Du Plessis' last outing had been 1 year, 9 months and 29 days ago.

Strickland's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 5 months and 23 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 23 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 16 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.2 rounds on average.

Plessis' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Strickland vs Plessis?

Sean Strickland was a 19/20 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Dricus Du Plessis made his way into the ring at 87/100 (-110) with oddsmakers.