'Strickland is trash': Fighters react to Dricus Du Plessis' title defense vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 312
Nearly 13 months after their first encounter, Dricus Du Plessis once again got his hand raised in Saturday's UFC 312 rematch with Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) achieved a second consecutive title defense in his reign as middleweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) in the event headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The first fight, which went down at UFC 297 in January 2024, saw Du Plessis claim a unanimous decision. Now he is 2-0 in head-to-head competition with Strickland.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Du Plessis beating Strickland at UFC 312.
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Gearing up for battle βοΈ
Your #UFC312 main event is not far away! pic.twitter.com/hPAxCdY9r4
β UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) February 9, 2025
Almost time... π#UFC312 | @DricusDuPlessis | @SStricklandMMA pic.twitter.com/esFQSTkK70
β UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2025
Sean Strickland makes the walk! #UFC312 pic.twitter.com/IJjmd42k0z
β UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
HERE WE GO π₯Ά #UFC312 pic.twitter.com/aejQ4FSFWj
β UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
βSaturday weβre gonna go to warβ
β¦ continues the trend of teep/jab all round 1β Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 9, 2025
Close round. DDP 10-9 #UFC312
β Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) February 9, 2025
Dricuss pressing a lot of buttons on the controller and itβs starting to pay off at the end of RD. It could be 1-1 or 2-0 DDP. Strickland needs to pick it up here. #UFC312
β Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) February 9, 2025
2-0 driscus
β Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 9, 2025
30-27 Du Plessis. Strickland needs to make a few mid-fight adjustments if he wants to get his hand raised tonight #UFC312
β Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 9, 2025
Championship Rounds π #UFC312
How are you scoring Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2?! pic.twitter.com/Ybk3RScyan
β UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
10 minutes left on the table...
Who's leaving #UFC312 with the belt?? pic.twitter.com/mJEp605XTt
β UFC (@ufc) February 9, 2025
DU PLESSIS BROKE STRICKLAND'S NOSE π³ #UFC312 pic.twitter.com/KNE7WmyJFC
β ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2025
4-0 DDP.
Strickland's nose is bleeding a lot. Maybe broken. Last 5 minutes for him coming up. Might be his last chance at a title.β Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 9, 2025
Sean Strickland's nose π₯Ά #UFC312
Final round up NEXT! pic.twitter.com/EWT9GSojNY
β UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
This replay of the shot from Dricus du Plessis that broke Sean Strickland's nose... WOW! #UFC312 pic.twitter.com/haWDOscIQ0
β Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 9, 2025
Sean Strickland is absolute trash at fighting π
β Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) February 9, 2025
Dricus Du Plessis is a top 5 P4P in the world. Put some respect on the champion!!! #UFC312
β Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 9, 2025
Eric Nicksick told Strickland that he needed to load up, take chances, and go all out to finish. Then Strickland went out there and continued to do basically the same thing heβs been doing since Rd 1.
β Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) February 9, 2025
They go the distance! #UFC312
How did you score Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2?! pic.twitter.com/m1b8rXdBwF
β UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 'Strickland is trash': Fighters react to Dricus Du Plessis' title defense vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 312