Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis were involved in what many are calling the most bizarre face-off in UFC history.
Strickland and Du Plessis came face-to-face for the final time ahead of their championship showdown as they met at the ceremonial weigh-ins last night.
At the official weigh-ins, the challenger successfully made weight, tipping the scales at 184lbs.
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As for the champion, he came in at 184.75lbs for his first defence of the UFC middleweight title.
Strickland and Du Plessis then clashed at the ceremonial weigh-ins as they were involved in a bizarre exchange.
After the South African posed on the scales, Stickland stood on the other side of the stage as he looked across his opponent from afar.
Moments later, Du Plessis charged at Strickland, but was held back by Dana White and UFC security.
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Strickland, who didn't pose on the scales, eventually faced off against Du Plessis in an intense staredown. Check it out below:
It's being called the 'most bizarre face-off in UFC history'.
The American heads into his first title defence, having stunned the MMA world following his shock victory over Israel Adesanya, who is predicting a win for Du Plessis.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya, who is expected to be in attendance at UFC 297, said: "I’m going to go with Dricus. Is it going to go the distance? I’m going to say no.
"Not that I don’t respect Sean or his skills, the guy beat me. Of course, I respect his skills. I’ll say [submission]. He’ll submit him."
He added: “Dricus is going to try to wrestle him. Stand up in the beginning, do his off-beat rhythm, all that stuff. He might get jabbed in the first round by Sean and then have to really switch to the grappling because Sean’s jab is underrated.
"I never underestimated it but it’s underrated and I figured it out. It didn’t take me long to figure it out after the fight. In the fight, I had some other sh*t going on that I wasn’t able to figure it out, I was worried about some other stuff self-consciously to do with me, not to do with him."
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Strickland is on a three-fight winning streak since losing to Jared Cannonier, having beaten Nassourdine Imavov, Abusupiyan Magomedov and, of course, Adesanya.
Du Plessis, meanwhile, has won all of his six UFC fights, notably beating the likes of Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker.
Topics: UFC, Dana White
Nasir Jabbar