Dricus Du Plessis on Potential Sean Strickland Rematch: I Don’t Owe Him Anything

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

​

Dricus Du Plessis recently addressed the possibility of a future rematch against Sean Strickland.

Dricus Du Plessis on Potential Sean Strickland Rematch: I Don’t Owe Him Anything

Dricus Du Plessis recently addressed the possibility of a future rematch against Sean Strickland.

www.sherdog.com

Du Plessis dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 this past January via split decision in a middleweight title fight that could have easily been scored either way. Strickland later claimed to have been robbed due to the fight taking place in “liberal” Canada.

Strickland has since been calling for a rematch, strengthening his case with a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. Meanwhile, Du Plessis is set for his first title defense against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia.


When it comes to a potential rematch against Strickland, Du Plessis says he doesn’t owe the American anything. The South African claims to be surprised by the controversy surrounding the scorecards, which according to him, shouldn’t have been split in the first place. However, that doesn’t mean Du Plessis will shy away from a rematch against Strickland if the logistics makes sense.

"I don't owe Sean anything. The rules are pretty clear. It's scored round-by-round. The fact that it was a split decision is the biggest shocking factor for me,” Du Plessis recently told Kevin Iole. “It was a very clear win for me. But for me, the biggest fight is the fight that I want, the fight the fans want to see. At the end of the day, they are the ones that pay for the tickets, buy the pay-per-views and they are the ones that watch this sport. So, obviously for me, the Adesanya fight was by far the biggest fight. It's probably the biggest fight of the year, one of them at least. And the Strickland fight, sure. I mean if that's the fight that makes sense, that's the fight that I'm gonna fight.”

Du Plessis was in fact ready for an immediate rematch against Strickland and even claims to have informed the UFC, which chose to go with Adesanya.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

"I would have had no problem in doing the rematch,” he said. “I even told the UFC, I said there's no problem if they want to do the rematch, if Izzy isn't ready to fight or anything. Strickland rematch, I'm more than willing. Even in Vegas in his hometown, I have no problem with that. And they decided to go with the Adesanya fight, which is great for me."

While Strickland is currently the No.1 middleweight contender, a clash between top contenders Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev set for UFC 308 in October poses a strong threat to his title aspirations. Du Plessis speculates the winner of that bout could make Strickland lose relevance in title conversations.

"After this, we'll approach whatever comes,” he said. “But it will be interesting to see if Strickland's even close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fight happening soon.”

Spoiler

@Neck&Neck

@Arqueto @BroRogan @Carl Drogo @lsa
@StonedLemur @Fight Professor @TerrorTimmy @Elvis. @ryun253 @don't ask @C0NCH3TO @MEAN357 @Cooliox @mudrubble @Bobby Boulders @Simple Southerner @svmr_db @Luthien @BoxerMaurits @Neck&Neck @SeattleFightFan @Ares Black @SalvadorAllende @Arm Barbarian @Blanqa Blanqua @Royce's Gi @Cooliox @Krixes @MXZT @wisdom blows @nonoob @Mohawk Banditó @JKS @SuperNerd @2004 account @Mammothman @Bushwhacker B @Siver! @TITS @Cowboy Kurt Angle @Jose Beehive @MEAN357 @NoBiasJustMMA @FlyingDeathKick @Doughie99 @13Seconds @CPH @Kenny Powerth @OldBoy91 @Kryptt @Paynebringer @HI SCOTT NEWMAN @Poirierfan @SenorFranko @MMALOPEZ @Hellowhosthat @Get To Da Choppa @BangBang @Substance Abuse @John makfresshi @Islam Imamate @Wong_Wongster_Irish @TCE @Jackonfire @helax @Iroh

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

@Neck&Neck @helax @Bobby Boulders @Travis Alexander

 

[Khaosan]

DDP is the heel that we didn’t know we needed.

 

[Captain Tenneal]

African keeping the white man down I see

 

[Mammothman]

Strickbitch needs to grow a pair of huevos and fight Whittaker before any rematch talk

 

[AldoStillGoat]

“I don’t owe him anything”

“But it will be interesting to see if Strickland's even close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fight happening soon.”

Quack.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

I don't know what people expect him to say.

"Yea it was a close split decision, but honestly, I feel that I lost. Sean deserves an immediate rematch. He's the real champion."

 

[Corrado Soprano]

Strickland is still reeling from that “daddy” comment. Sean lost his composure, lost his belt, cried on a podcast, and exposed himself as a sensitive weakling who can dish it out but can’t take it. Sean actually cried… Come on, your future kids are going to see that.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

That Fancy Pants Vegas BBQ

I Could Eat

@lsa @Arqueto @helax @StonedLemur @PurpleStorm @BroRogan @Jackonfire @Pliny Pete

 

[Bobby Boulders]

@Neck&Neck @helax @Bobby Boulders @Travis Alexander

 

[KO Shotz]

Yup. Khamzat beating Rob will put him in the spot for the next shot at the title I guarantee it. Khamzat vs Izzy or DDP will be much bigger than a Strickland rematch with either.

 

[flektarn]

I hear him, but does he really want to wait a year to defend his title against khamzat ?

 

[IDGETKTFO]

I hope deSean says the same thing if Izzy beats DDP and deSean beats Izzy again.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

I hope deSean says the same thing if Izzy beats DDP and deSean beats Izzy again.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

Well I mean he's not wrong. Izzy vs him was the bigger fight to make. He's also not wrong about the winner of Khamzat Vs Rob overtaking Sean's relevance in regards to a TS. If I were Sean I'd start trying to look for the next available top 5 guy ASAP before he gets past up for Rob or Khamzat. Which definitely will happen unless Izzy wins and really pushes for the Strickland rematch, otherwise the UFC will just make DDP vs Rob 2 or DDP vs Khamzat instead..

 

[fortheo]

“I don’t owe him anything”

“But it will be interesting to see if Strickland's even close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fight happening soon.”

Quack.

Please elaborate. He doesn't seem to be saying anything outlandish, unless you're a sensitive Strickland fan.

 

[chinarice]

Outside of Lyoto vs Shogun, has there ever been a title fight where an immediate rematch was actually warranted and given?

The other 3 instances I can think of where an immediate title rematch was warranted were TJ vs Cruz, Sean vs DDP and MM vs Cejudo 2 and none were given yet a bunch of unwarranted immediate title rematches were given.

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

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Dricus Du Plessis recently addressed the possibility of a future rematch against Sean Strickland.

Dricus Du Plessis on Potential Sean Strickland Rematch: I Don’t Owe Him Anything

Dricus Du Plessis recently addressed the possibility of a future rematch against Sean Strickland.

www.sherdog.com

Du Plessis dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 this past January via split decision in a middleweight title fight that could have easily been scored either way. Strickland later claimed to have been robbed due to the fight taking place in “liberal” Canada.

Strickland has since been calling for a rematch, strengthening his case with a decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. Meanwhile, Du Plessis is set for his first title defense against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday in Perth, Australia.


When it comes to a potential rematch against Strickland, Du Plessis says he doesn’t owe the American anything. The South African claims to be surprised by the controversy surrounding the scorecards, which according to him, shouldn’t have been split in the first place. However, that doesn’t mean Du Plessis will shy away from a rematch against Strickland if the logistics makes sense.

"I don't owe Sean anything. The rules are pretty clear. It's scored round-by-round. The fact that it was a split decision is the biggest shocking factor for me,” Du Plessis recently told Kevin Iole. “It was a very clear win for me. But for me, the biggest fight is the fight that I want, the fight the fans want to see. At the end of the day, they are the ones that pay for the tickets, buy the pay-per-views and they are the ones that watch this sport. So, obviously for me, the Adesanya fight was by far the biggest fight. It's probably the biggest fight of the year, one of them at least. And the Strickland fight, sure. I mean if that's the fight that makes sense, that's the fight that I'm gonna fight.”

Du Plessis was in fact ready for an immediate rematch against Strickland and even claims to have informed the UFC, which chose to go with Adesanya.

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

"I would have had no problem in doing the rematch,” he said. “I even told the UFC, I said there's no problem if they want to do the rematch, if Izzy isn't ready to fight or anything. Strickland rematch, I'm more than willing. Even in Vegas in his hometown, I have no problem with that. And they decided to go with the Adesanya fight, which is great for me."

While Strickland is currently the No.1 middleweight contender, a clash between top contenders Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev set for UFC 308 in October poses a strong threat to his title aspirations. Du Plessis speculates the winner of that bout could make Strickland lose relevance in title conversations.

"After this, we'll approach whatever comes,” he said. “But it will be interesting to see if Strickland's even close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fight happening soon.”

Spoiler

@Neck&Neck

@Arqueto @BroRogan @Carl Drogo @lsa
@StonedLemur @Fight Professor @TerrorTimmy @Elvis. @ryun253 @don't ask @C0NCH3TO @MEAN357 @Cooliox @mudrubble @Bobby Boulders @Simple Southerner @svmr_db @Luthien @BoxerMaurits @Neck&Neck @SeattleFightFan @Ares Black @SalvadorAllende @Arm Barbarian @Blanqa Blanqua @Royce's Gi @Cooliox @Krixes @MXZT @wisdom blows @nonoob @Mohawk Banditó @JKS @SuperNerd @2004 account @Mammothman @Bushwhacker B @Siver! @TITS @Cowboy Kurt Angle @Jose Beehive @MEAN357 @NoBiasJustMMA @FlyingDeathKick @Doughie99 @13Seconds @CPH @Kenny Powerth @OldBoy91 @Kryptt @Paynebringer @HI SCOTT NEWMAN @Poirierfan @SenorFranko @MMALOPEZ @Hellowhosthat @Get To Da Choppa @BangBang @Substance Abuse @John makfresshi @Islam Imamate @Wong_Wongster_Irish @TCE @Jackonfire @helax @Iroh

Nice guy Dricus is going to trigger DeSean with these statements.

 

[PrideNverDies]

Wish Alex stuck around at MW a little longer just to KO this guy

 

[Elvis.]

Strickland is obviously a few bricks short of a full load but surely he’s been around long enough to know that the company is going to book the fight they perceive as being the most profitable.
Ddp understands it just fine , no he’s not going to promise Sean anything if he thinks he can get more money fighting Khamzat or whoever is deemed more lucrative.
Sean’s stance of “I beat Costa so now I’m going to tell everyone what’s going to happen” could have him sitting around like a dumbbell for 18 months easy