Dricus du Plessis breaks Sean Strickland's nose to defend middleweight title in Sydney
Dricus du Plessis has successfully defended the UFC middleweight title, and it came at a cost for Sean Strickland who had his nose broken in a brutal encounter.
Fighting on the UFC 312 card in Sydney, Strickland needed to produce something special in the rematch to take the title from the South African.
But Strickland struggled to deal with the ferocity of du Plessis and was well behind on the significant strikes count during the first two rounds.
RECAP: UFC 312, du Plessis v Strickland 2
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"Strickland needs to throw more," Daniel Cormier said on Main Event.
"I expect the corner of Strickland to really let him have it."
Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. Getty
During the third round it was more of the same, with his corner delivering an ultimatum at the end of the five minutes.
"You're going to have to start opening it up ... You've got to f--king push Sean Strickland," his corner told him.
But it went from bad to worse for Strickland with du Plessis landing a right punch to his nose, with blood streaming all over his face.
"That's as bad a broken nose I've seen in a long time," Jon Anik said.
"And it's very painful ... This is a terrible situation," added Michael Bisping.
Strickland fought on but couldn't compete with the South African who retained his title.
Post-fight, du Plessis admitted knocking out Strickland was "next to impossible".
"I would've loved another round but that's not the game," he said.
"I told you I wanted submission, knockout or an absolute domination of a five-rounder. That's what I gave."
When the time came for Strickland to be interviewed, he declared "I'll make this quick" before taking the microphone from Cormier.
"I f---ing love you guys, when that f---er broke my nose, I thought, 'That doesn't feel right', but I popped it back in place, I kept fighting for you," he said before continuing his expletive-laden comments.
