With the conclusion of UFC 297, we witnessed a new champion crowned with the ‘185’ lbs division gold. Sean Strickland failed to defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis and had to suffer the sixth loss of his career. Their battle was ridden with uncertainty till the final bell. ‘Stillknocks’ won the bout but there’s a new controversy in the story now.

Strickland and Du Plessis promised a war and they delivered a war. The blood-raged fight between them shifted the dynamics of the middleweight division. But now Strickland has been denied an immediate title rematch and seems like the fighter has now fired shots at the new champion.

Sean Strickland wants his rematch

Strickland started the match with a proper combination of strikes and blocks. ‘Tarzan’s jabs affected Du Plessis enough to leave him with a black eye in the 2nd round. There was a thought that Strickland must have clinched the victory but as the final bell rang, Du Plessis grabbed the belt.

After the decision win, the MMA community seems to be in splits. One side claimed that Strickland was robbed while the other claimed the win was fair. Nonetheless, Strickland took to his Instagram handle to add a last comment on his loss. The fighter shared stats by ESPN where it can be seen that Strickland had more significant strikes than Du Plessis.

He captioned the image as “Alright I’m done complaining hahahaha thanks to everyone for letting me vent…… onto the next!!! Lol I love you guys!!! Thanks ESPN!”  Strickland’s loss was a bit controversial but he took it like a champ. Even Dana White believed that while the firsr 4 rounds were evenly distributed between the two fighters, Strickland had edged out DDP in that championship round.

However, White seems to be reluctant about an immediate rematch. So what’s next for the new champion? Let us find out.

What’s next for Dricus Du Plessis?

The newly crowned middleweight champion has a new challenge ahead of him now. Du Plessis became the first South African champion in the UFC and with this, the fighter is set to defend his title against the heavyweights of the division.

At the post-fight interview, Du Plessis issued a challenge to the former champion, Israel Adesanya. ‘Izzy’ seems to have accepted the challenge and is preparing for the fight. Interestingly, the light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira has shown interest in making a comeback to the middleweight division.

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Strickland is also on the cards for the new champion as White claimed that their rematch is slated to happen but not immediately. Finally, we got another name that is making noise in the division, Khamzat Chimaev. The emeriti has called out Dana White to keep his promise for a title shot. All in all, Du Plessis has 4 potential middleweight contenders. Who do you think will lock horns against the South African first?

Read More: “But He Can Give McGregor Tittle Shot” – Fans Up in Arms as Dana White Seemingly Refuses to Give Sean Strickland Rematch Against Dricus Du Plessis Post UFC 297