• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Official judges' scorecards have been released for Dricus du Plessis' UFC middleweight title win over Sean Strickland

Home> MMA> UFC> UFC News

Updated 17:13 21 Jan 2024 GMTPublished 17:14 21 Jan 2024 GMT

Official judges' scorecards have been released for Dricus du Plessis' UFC middleweight title win over Sean Strickland

Dricus du Plessis beat Sean Strickland in the UFC 297 main event in Toronto.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

UFC have release the official scorecards from the judges following Dricus du Plessis' middleweight title win over Sean Strickland.

Du Plessis squared off against Strickland in the UFC 297 main event at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and the two engaged in a brutal five-round war inside the Octagon.

The bout went the distance and it was the 30-year-old who came out on top, becoming the first South African champion in UFC history following the judges' decision.

It was a split decision, with two judges giving the fight to the challenger and the other believing Strickland did enough to retain his title.

Advert

Both Derek Cleary and Eric Colon scored it 48-47 in favour of Du Plessis, having been in complete agreement about the spread of the rounds.

In their view, Strickland won the first and final round but Du Plessis got the better of his opponent in the remaining three.

However, Sal D'Amato saw it differently. He scored it 48-47 for Strickland and felt he won rounds one, three and five.

The decision was seen as a controversial one by many, with UFC co-commentator Joe Rogan branding the result "very interesting" and suggesting there would be a backlash online.

Advert

The outcome was also bad news for rap megastar Drake as he lost a whole lot of money.

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

With Stake, 'Drizzy' placed a whopping $700,000 (£551,000) bet on Strickland to win and would have had collected more than £1 million.

However, with Du Plessis' narrow win, the four-time Grammy Award winner suffered yet more misery when it comes to betting on combat sports.

Advert

UFC president Dana White also scored the fight very evenly but felt as though Strickland took it in the final round.

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

"It’s funny. We were just looking at how the media had scored it: right down the middle. I had it 2-2 going into the last round and I thought Strickland won the last round,” White told MMA Junkie at the post-fight presser.

"“Guys who were sitting at the same table had it the other way. It was a close fight. I thought Strickland looked great in the first two rounds."

Featured Image Credit: UFC

Topics: UFC

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

X

@joshlawless_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 days ago
4 days ago
5 days ago
  • 3 days ago

    UFC fans spot what Donald Trump's secret service security team did when fighter jumped cage in front of US president

    Fans were shocked to see how Trump's security reacted after Merab Dvalishvili's win.

    MMA
  • 4 days ago

    Dana White ruthlessly axes fighter from roster just days after major error at UFC 316

    Dana White has cut a fighter from the roster following UFC 316.

    MMA
  • 5 days ago

    Ariel Helwani drops major update on Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall and slams UFC boss Dana White

    Ariel Helwani hit out at Jon Jones and accused Dana White of not telling the whole story.

    MMA
  • 5 days ago

    Conor McGregor forced to delete post after being destroyed by Game of Thrones actor

    The former UFC champion deleted his latest social post after the brutal reply.

    MMA
  • Dricus du Plessis brutally mocks Israel Adesanya for crying during UFC 305 press conference
  • Israel Adesanya bursts into tears during heated UFC 305 press conference with Dricus du Plessis
  • Alex Pereira drops his coldest line yet after watching Israel Adesanya lose to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305
  • The reason why Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis hate each other after controversial African comment