Canada may have got to play host to the UFC’s traveling circus on Saturday night, but it was South Africa that got the biggest win.

Dricus du Plessis has had all the tools to be a star in the land of the MMA giants and, at UFC 297, he got the hardware to go along with it when he went toe to toe (among other body parts) with UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland and did what he needed to get championship gold wrapped around his waist.

Dricus du Plessis has been waiting for this moment

The career of Dricus du Plessis has been, to this point, lined with gold, winning championships in EFC and KSW before joining the UFC in 2020. From there, he rattled off 5 straight wins to get himself to the forefront of contendership for Israel Adesanya’s championship, a spot that could be argued was being given to him as much as it was earned since Izzy was in need of fresh blood after avenging a loss to Alex Pereira.

It was an opportunity Dricus du Plessis could have sat on but, whether he wanted to keep fresh or whether he felt he needed a statement win to prove he deserved to be the next man up, he agreed to fight for the right at UFC 290 against former champion Robert Whittaker.

It was the moment du Plessis needed to show the world he was ready, putting Whittaker away with punches inside of 3 rounds. One infamous in cage confrontation later and there was no hotter matchup than the battle to see who truly was Africa’s favorite son.

(Spoiler: It’s Francis Ngannou)

But, alas, the fight wasn’t meant to be, as Dricus du Plessis was unable to make a quick turnaround to face Izzy in Australia at UFC 293. Instead, UFC turned to the man who has become as well-known for his words outside the cage as his strikes inside of it in Mr. Strickland.

Sean Strickland made the most of his time in the spotlight

Sean Strickland has been on quite the high since last September. He’s lived by the mantra of “When life gives you lemons, make haterade” but he’s done so in a way that’s become endearing to fans due to his brashness and relatability. He truly is a man of the people.

And he rode that wave of adoration into Sydney and into a grinding yet dominant unanimous decision win over Adesanya, upsetting the apple cart in a way nobody expected but everybody loved.

The path to the main event of UFC 297 wasn’t a given for either man, certainly not for Sean but also not for Dricus who, by turning down the fight at 293, had earned enough ire with UFC brass to turn the guarantee of a title shot into “we’ll see what happens.” But, thanks in part to Islam Makhachev’ knockout of Alexander Volkanovski pushing back UFC 297’s originally planned main event, his destiny wasn’t ultimately denied.

The UFC 297 fight was (mostly) worth the hype

Maybe it was always meant to happen this way at UFC 297. Maybe Saturday night in Toronto was the time and place for this chapter of both men’s histories to be written. On a night when Raquel Pennington showed that experience and endurance can overwhelm dynamism and aggression when she defeated Mayra Buena Silva. On a night when Neil Magny opened the gate and shut it closed on Mike Malott’s face. On a night when Jasmine Jasudavicius hurt Priscila Cachoeira so badly, Mario Yamasaki is probably getting blamed for it.

Maybe the first UFC Pay-Per-View of 2024 was the night this change was meant to take place, although it was by no means a given. The UFC 297 main event was tense and close through all five rounds. Strickland used his technique to work around du Plessis’ power. Dricus took advantage of Sean’s stance to land takedowns but he was never able to do much with them. Both men landed shots that left them bloodied and bruised by the end of the final round.

And, in the end, it was the South African who earned the majority of the judges’ scorecards to become the new champion via split decision at UFC 297. It can definitely be argued who truly won but both men went to war (as promised) and left the fans with something memorable after a long night of decisions. Yeah, it was another decision but it was a good battle.

Maybe the UFC 297 headliner wasn’t as exciting as their first fight but it still delivered. Hopefully Sean got the physical intimacy he was looking for.

Now that Dricus Du Plessis has the validation he’d been hoping for after UFC 297, there seems to be little question as to who he should fight next. It’s just a matter of whether Adesanya is ready to come back yet. The rumors have been that UFC was waiting on the outcome of this fight to finally make a decision on the main event of UFC 300 and, while it may not be wise to expect du Plessis to be able to make a quick turnaround after the fight he just had, it certainly would be as big a stage as UFC can offer to settle that rivalry. So maybe it will happen.

Or they’ll just make another interim championship. Everyone likes those, right? 

Either way, at least Dricus knows his spot is guaranteed now. If only the same could be said for Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad…

Evan Zivin

Evan Zivin is a writer, having joined Bloody Elbow in 2023. He's been providing his unique takes on the sport of MMA since 2013, previously working as a featured columnist for 411Mania. Evan has followed MMA and professional wrestling for most of his life. His joy is in finding the stories and characters within all combat sports and presenting them in a serious yet light-hearted way.

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