The main event of UFC 297, which will take place in January, will feature Sean Strickland competing against Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight championship. On account of the recent altercation that took place between them in the audience at UFC 296, the anticipation for their fight is at an all-time high.
A couple of weeks ago, the two individuals were highlighted during the press conference that was conducted for the promotion’s 2024 Season. This press conference took place the day before UFC 296. It was said that ‘Stillknocks’ brought up Strickland’s childhood tragedy during the media event, which caused the middleweight champion to get more enraged than the fans had previously witnessed or experienced.
After a brief exchange of words, the two individuals got into a fight the following day, when they were sitting in the audience for the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year. They were positioned many rows apart from each other in the crowd.
A recent interview with MMAJunkie provided Eric Nicksick, Sean Strickland’s coach, with the opportunity to discuss his thoughts and feelings over the incident. It was him who said:
There is more than one side to that dilemma. It is important to note that Sean does not hesitate to express his opinions regarding any of us. As a result, it is highly likely that individuals will poke and say things about him as well. I believe that it is a difficult path to tow. In circumstances like those, you must avoid getting overly emotional. Words are all that they are. At the end of the day, however, I did get the impression that he was triggered, and there were a few days in which it served as a type of motivation for him.
However, I wanted him to comprehend that we must have the appropriate motivation in order to be successful. There was no need for this angry individual to go there in the first place… However, ever since that time, he has been an outstanding individual.
Dricus du Plessis’ camp believes he will walk through Sean Strickland, according to Daniel Cormier
After dominating Israel Adesanya for five rounds at UFC 293, Sean Strickland surprised the mixed martial arts (MMA) world by winning by unanimous decision and became the new middleweight champion. Strickland’s victory was the result of a unanimous decision. His first defense of the title will take place at UFC 297, where he will contest Dricus du Plessis.
Recently, Daniel Cormier provided some insight into the confidence that the South African team have in front of the battle. During his time at UFC 296, which took place a few weeks ago, ‘DC’ reportedly had conversations with members of Du Plessis’ squad.
Cormier revealed the specifics of the chat in a video that was uploaded to YouTube not too long ago, saying:
Those who are close to du Plessis believe that it is an afterthought that he obtains through Sean Strickland, according to what I have heard from them. They are of the opinion that he is so far ahead of Sean Strickland that it will not be challenging to compete with him. I am at a loss to comprehend how you could possibly watch the most recent fight [against Adesanya] and feel that way.
