Du Plessis or Strickland: Who Won The Fight?

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Dricus du Plessis won on the scorecards, but did Sean Strickland win the fight?

Who won the fight?

After five intense, gripping, and violent rounds, Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis both had a legitimate claim to victory. Du Plessis was awarded the bout, and the UFC middleweight championship, by split decision.

But who really won?

That is a question only answered by looking at the second and third rounds.

Official scores were 48-47, 48-47, and 47-48, with two of the three judges favoring du Plessis. The first round belonged to Strickland, and it was scored, 10-9, in his favor.

The fourth was rightfully scored, 10-9, in favor of du Plessis. Strickland pushed the pace and delivered more than enough damage to win the fifth and final round.

Rounds two and three were more complex.

All three judges–Derek Cleary, Eric Conlon, and Sal D’Amato–scored the second round, 10-9, for du Plessis.

The third round is even more complicated. Cleary and Compton scored the third for du Plessis, while D’Amato favored the work of Strickland. Interestingly, as pointed out by UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik, D’Amato has been the dissenting judge in Strickland’s last three split decisions.

In Sean Strickland's last 3 split decisions (v. Hermansson, Cannonier, & du Plessis), Sal D'Amato has been the dissenting judge in all three! His Hermansson card was forgettable. Other two are certainly defensible. But judges are human. He was vilified for that Hermansson card…
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) January 21, 2024

Let’s examine the parameters. Looking at clear damage, which blows got the fighter closer to victory?

Strickland employed a death-by-jab approach, and it was nearly effective. It pieced du Plessis apart, whose face looked like a catcher’s mitt–and put Strickland in a spot where he landed more significant strikes.

Takedowns need to be weighed–they represent the establishment of an attack.

History has been made!🇿🇦
Thank you to everyone who believed n me and the incredible support.
Those who didn’t… well that makes you look like a dumbass! pic.twitter.com/F5VUwOZVZo
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) January 21, 2024

Even though du Plessis did not ground Strickland for too lengthy a period (altogether, the takedowns gave him two minutes-and-eight-seconds of ground time), he landed six takedowns. That marked the first time an opponent landed multiple takedowns on Strickland since Kamaru Usman accomplished the feat with a pair of takedowns in 2017. Octagon control also belonged to du Plessis in those rounds, as he controlled the center of the cage.

In the second round, du Plessis made more impact. His spinning back fist landed a minute into the round, and he had Strickland leaning back to avoid his forward-pressing strikes. A late takedown, which took place under a minute, also favored du Plessis. His double jab also landed in the waning moments of the round. Rewatching the round, the judges got this correct: round two belonged to du Plessis.

Strickland has an argument for the third round because of his jabs. But du Plessis landed a high leg kick in the opening of the round, and he was in perpetual forward motion. He was attacking and keeping Strickland on his heels. Strickland never dictated the pace–even if that meant du Plessis took more jabs than he would have liked, that won him the round.

Strickland is not in line for an immediate rematch for the title. He will need to beat someone, potentially even Khamzat Chimaev, to get another crack at the belt. Israel Adesanya will be next in line, potentially even headlining UFC 300 against du Plessis.

Thanks to a razor thin decision, the Dricus du Plessis era has begun.

And yes, the judges got this one right. Du Plessis won the fight.