Sean Strickland claims he was busted open by a head butt from Dricus Du Plessis, contributing to his UFC 297 loss last weekend in Toronto. The newly-crowned champion, however, who escaped Toronto with a split decision victory over “Tarzan,” has no recollection of cracking craniums during the five-round main event.
“I can’t say I did,” Du Plessis told reporters during the UFC 297 post-fight press conference (watch it here). “It is the first time I have heard of it. I did not feel anything. He said I head-butted him? I can’t remember any head butt.”
Some random yutz uploaded a clip to social media claiming to have isolated the incident. That said, fans in the comment section of his tweet remain unconvinced, insisting Strickland was already cut before the recorded exchange took place.
Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, was more concerned about the “optics” of the fight than accusations of slamming skulls. Unfortunately, there remains a portion of MMA fans who think every close fight is a “robbery” so the head butt accusations have only added fuel to their collective fire (along with this post-fight take).
It seems head butts and optics are a recurring theme for Xtreme Couture middleweights.
Either way, UFC CEO Dana White has already ruled out an immediate rematch in favor of pairing Du Plessis with former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. It remains to be seen if the injured “Stylebender” will be healthy enough to compete at the upcoming UFC 300 pay-per-view (PPV) event this April in Las Vegas.
For complete UFC 297 results and play-by-play action click here. For more UFC 297 news and notes including video highlights, recaps, reactions, and more, check out our comprehensive “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” news archive by clicking here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
