Leading up to the fight against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, Sean ‘Tarzan’ Strickland looked to be in the best physique of his career. There were plenty of people who admired the shape that the champ was in coming into the fight against the no.2 ranked middleweight contender in the world. However, fans were rightfully shocked to see him at the weigh-ins for UFC 297.

Given how shredded Strickland looked in some of the pictures of him leading up to the fight, the fans were rightfully shocked to see the middleweight champion drained. Despite making weight for the fight by weighing in at 184.75 lbs, the drastic change in physique led fans to speculate the weight cut ‘Tarzan’ went through.

“Doesn’t look good”: Fans React to Shredded Strickland

The UFC middleweight champ, as mentioned earlier, looked to be in the best shape in current times. It was no surprise that the champ has been more determined than ever, coming into this fight. This could be a result of what took place during the lead-up to the fight.

However, in the weigh-ins for UFC 297, fans looked really concerned about the drastic effects that the weight cut had on the middleweight champion. His physique at the weigh-ins looked completely different from how he looked like in the buildup to the fight.

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But fans seem to be forgetting that no fighters look their best after a weight cut. Even at the weigh-ins during the fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, ‘Tarzan’ had to bring out the black curtains for the weigh-ins. But given that the middleweight champ wasn’t as vocal as he usually is, added to the concern of fans.

Here are some of the comments from the post.

A fan commented on the post, giving his take on the champ’s physique, by writing,
“Doesn’t look good”. 

A fan critiqued the people who always think the worst after watching the weigh-ins by commenting on the post, writing, “Casuals every time someone weighs in “he doesn’t look good””

One fan predicted that Dricus Du Plessis would weigh in looking worse. In the comment he wrote, “lol all those talking about he doesn’t look good, let’s see DDP and then talk”. 

One fan called the people critiquing Strickland’s weigh-in physique, “scrubs” and highlighted this is how the middleweight champ looks every time he weighs in. “He looks like this every single time go back to the Izzy fight lol casual scrubs”. 

One more fan highlighted how Strickland performed against Adesanya despite looking the same in their weigh-ins. The comment wrote, “Go back and see how he looked after the Izzy weight cut. Looked like death and look at how that went down.”

A ‘Stillknocks’ fan claimed that the middleweight champion fared poorly against Du Plessis in terms of matchups.
“DDP is a nightmare style of a fighter for Strickland.. he’s getting smoked early”. 

A fan claimed that Strickland looked drained and Drixus Du Plessis would take him out by round 2. “Looks drained…. DDP starches in 2”

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The Middleweight champion and challenger buries the beef

Meanwhile, champ Sean Strickland, and no.2 ranked middleweight Dricus Du Plessis has had one of the wildest buildups to the main event of the first UFC PPV event of 2024. Du Plessis went personal against Strickland at the seasonal press conference this past December, which ultimately led to a massive brawl between the two. However, in the recent press conference, the two seemed rather cordial with each other.

Strickland revealed it wasn’t ever personal between the two. He stated, “I go hard on everybody you guys. You don’t think I deserve a little sh** bro? I go hard on all you motherf**rs. I’m proud of the motherf**err.” He also praised ‘Stillknocks’ saying, “you don’t see me lose character often, this motherf*r got me there.”

Given that the two squashed their beef, do you still believe that the two will go to war? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also Read: Sean Strickland Buries the Hatchet With Dricus Du Plessis in Bizarre Turn of Events as Fan Storms UFC 297 Press Conference Stage