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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dricus du Plessis has no regrets about his role in the bad blood that’s developed with Sean Strickland.

This Saturday, du Plessis challenges Strickland for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 297. Initially, the two men didn’t have much to say about one another, but things have taken a dramatic turn over the past month after a heated press conference in December that snowballed into a full-blown brawl while cageside at UFC 296. In the aftermath of the incident, some have wondered if the trash talk between the two went too far, but du Plessis isn’t buying it.

“I don’t regret anything,” du Plessis said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I said what I said. Listen, if you’re dishing it out, you’re going to get it. I’m not going to keep on hammering on it, but I stand by what I said. I did not joke about it. What happened was fact. I stated fact. He joked about it, in previous interviews. I didn’t joke about it, I stated the facts. Obviously, it had a massive effect on him. I won’t be hammering on that because it’s not necessary. I got the results I wanted. I don’t need to hammer on one thing.

“Obviously, it’s terrible that it happened to him, but it did. Don’t project onto others what you don’t want to happen to you. That’s the way it is. He disrespected me, disrespected my coach, and I won’t let that slide. So take that and now we’re on a clean page. We start over. It’s strictly business. Nothing’s personal. I have no animosity towards him. I said what I said, what happened, happened, there’s no animosity, from my side at least. I’m here to do my business. I’m here to win a fight.”

While du Plessis and Strickland traded barbs at the press conference, things escalated when the South African fighter made incendiary comments about Strickland’s childhood trauma, says he would “beat the s*** out of” Strickland worse than his father used to, setting the middleweight champion off. In an interview earlier this year, Strickland recounted that childhood trauma, claiming that “there are some things that are off limits” when it comes to trash talk, but du Plessis argues this is pure hypocrisy.

“He had a lot to say about Khalil Rountree, and he said how weak of a man Khalil is for crying,” du Plessis said. “He did the exact same thing, just on a bigger stage. Not talking about somebody’s wife. I’m assuming because he has somebody in his life now, that became a thing. He didn’t care about Ian Garry’s wife when he said what he said. It wasn’t his place to say anything, but whatever.

“He’s a funny character. I actually quite enjoy him. The hypocrisy is what made me — that was the one area where people could lose respect for Sean Strickland, because he’s always unapologetically himself. But as soon as he got his own medicine, as soon as he was on the receiving end for the very first time, when I got on that mic, we saw him backpedal and try to play for sympathy. He wanted sympathy. He was acting like he had that victim mentality immediately. You can’t do that if you say the things you say. Talking about people who can’t dodge busses on a fighter who died. Is that not over the line? You, Mr. Moral Compass, doesn’t decide where the line is. He doesn’t have the right to decide where that line is. Now, all of a sudden, the line is where he wants it to be? No. I don’t think so.”

And by that same token, du Plessis says that’s why he never got upset about Strickland attacking him in the crowd at UFC 296: Because he was asking for it.

“Obviously, things work a little bit differently in the United States versus South Africa,” du Plessis said. “In South Africa, that’s a good old Friday night out. And not even a very good one. People would be very disappointed if that was the fight they saw in a bar.

“It never even occurred to me [to press charges]. Live by the sword, die by the sword. If you’re looking for trouble and get it, don’t go crying to mama and looking to open up a case or to sue anybody. If you’re looking for trouble and you get it, it’s your bed, you made it.”

As for this week, Strickland believes things might be a little less explosive than some expect. He and Strickland will have another pre-fight press conference and a few faceoffs, but du Plessis says that his energy is different this week, as he’s all business.

“I’ll be ready for whatever he tries with me,” du Plessis said. “When I go to these press conferences, I never plan, ‘Oh, I’m going to say this, say that!’ That’s not the way. It’s on the spot. I think it’s going to be a lot more civil, but maybe he comes out guns blazing, who knows? But I think it will be a lot more civil because in my mind, that first press conference was joking around. That was me having a lot of fun. I’m not in that zone anymore. I’m in the fight zone now. I’m ready to go. I’m here to win a world title. I’m not here to make jokes. I’m here to be a world champion.”

UFC 297 takes place this Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

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Stalwart color-commenator, Joe Rogan has claimed that while in his opinion, former interim welterweight title challenger, Colby Covington is a “master” at irking out his opponents ahead of fight night, that strategy blew up in his face during his UFC 296 title siege against Leon Edwards last month.

Covington, a former interim welterweight champion and now-three-time undisputed divisional title challenger, suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Birmingham technician, Edwards in their UFC 296 title grudge match.

Joe Rogan befuddled by Colby Covington’s UFC 296 display

And receiving mass criticizm after targeting Edwards’ slain father in the pre-fight build-up between the two, Covington’s performance on the mic backed him into a corner against a “sharp” Edwards, and ultimately blew up in his proverbial face.

“Colby (Covington) talked so much sh*t,” Joe Rogan said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “It was f*cked up. That’s Colby. He’s the master at getting under people’s skin, but I think in that fight it backfired. He didn’t look good.”

“I was impressed with Leon (Edwards),” Joe Rogan explained. “I think that the problem is that Colby fight is Leon. He was so dangerous. He was so sharp. He is so technical on the feet.” 

Targeting a slew of fights for his comeback to the Octagon, outspoken Clovis native, Covington has name-dropped the likes of former multiple-time title challenger, Stephen Thompson, as well as unbeaten Irish starlet, Ian Garry – once again poking fun at the Dubliner’s relationship with his wife and manager, Layla Anna-Lee. 

“There is one guy that is a legitimate cuck and I’ve called him out for that,” Colby Covington said of Ian Garry during a recent interview. “I found out that this had happened, the girls as selling a book called ‘WAG’ – which means ‘wifes and girlfriends’. So, she was promoting that she had a boyfriend and she had a husband. It shouldn’t be allowed, it’s pretty nasty behaviour.”

“He was pretty angry,” Colby Covington explained. “I think he probably wants to settle the differences in the Octagon, and it just so happens, I like to fight in the Octagon,” Colby Covington explained. “So, if it needs to happen one day, I’d be honored to settle that.”

What’s next for Colby Covington after his one-sided UFC 296 loss?

LowKickMMA.com

Since leaving the UFC following a rough patch inside the octagon in late 2022, there has been much speculation on what Darren Till’s future holds, and he has now revealed his plans.

‘The Gorilla’ came into the UFC as an undefeated prodigy and quickly found his footing inside the octagon. Now, after a bad run of form, the Brit finds himself out of the promotion and without a fight for over a year.

During a recent interview, Darren Till opened up on what he wants next as he eyes his return to fighting.

“To be totally honest with you, my mind’s only been set on one thing, on one person [and that’s] the Mike Perry fight,” Till said while referencing his imminent return. “Obviously, he became the ‘King of Violence’ inside bare knuckle.

“It’s a fight that’s been destined now for seven years me and him. So, I’m really pushing for it. I don’t know what his team and that are doing, I don’t feel they’re pushing for it as much. I don’t know what the reasons are.”

“Maye they think there’s a bigger fight out there, which there potentially could be, you know. Like Nate [Diaz], [Jorge] Masvidal.”

Till then went on to confirm his interest in a UFC return and claimed he would one day find his way back to a place he considers his ‘bread and butter’. 

“Yeah, I do. I really do,” Till said about a possible UFC comeback. “It’s my bread and butter, I don’t feel like the doors closed.”

“I’ve got a great relationship with Hunter Campbell and Dana White. And the UFC themselves, all the UFC staff, you know, we get along great.”

Related: Dana White confirms Darren Till requested to be released by UFC

“So, I can see myself bouncing back into there. You know, one of my good friends Khamzat Chimaev, he’s down in London, he said he might come up and pay us a little visit. So that should be interesting.”

“Yeah, as I say, only baby steps now but that is the long game and the long goal is to return to the UFC and obviously return correctly.”

Check out what Darren Till had to say about his UFC return and more in the video below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

On the first episode of UFC 297 Embedded, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland sits down with Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby, Dricus du Plessis shows off his accommodations in Canada, Mayra Bueno Silva readies for her big moment, Chris Curtis gets in work with Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture, and more.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The “UFC 297” Countdown video shines a spotlight on the first two UFC title fights of 2024, featuring middleweight champion Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis in the main event, and top contenders Mayra Bueno Silva and Raquel Pennington battling for the vacant women’s bantamweight belt.

Strickland shocked the world in 2023, soundly defeating Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight title en route to MMA Fighting’s “Fighter of the Year” award. He defends for the first time when he takes on du Plessis this Saturday in Toronto. The hard-charging du Plessis is 6-0 in the UFC and not only is he the clear-cut No. 1 contender, he and Strickland have built up an ugly rivalry ahead of their championship duel.

In the co-main event, Silva and Pennington seek to bring stability to the 135-pound division by winning a title that has been vacant since the retirement of the legendary Amanda Nunes this past June. Silva has never lost at bantamweight, while Pennington earned her second crack at a UFC title by winning five straight fights.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

In the first episode of UFC 297 Embedded, champion Sean Strickland sits down with Maxx Crosby. Dricus Du Plessis acclimates to Canada. Mayra Bueno Silva trains with legends and Chris Curtis shines in the gym. 

UFC 297 takes place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is headlined by two world title bouts.  In the main event, middleweight champion Sean Strickland puts his title on the line for the first time against second-ranked Dricus Du Plessis.  

The vacant women’s bantamweight title will be on the line in the fight card’s co-main event.  Second-ranked Raquel Pennington takes on third-ranked Mayra Bueno Silva.  

The event marks the seventh time the fight promotion has hosted an event in Toronto since debuting there in December 2018.  

UFC 297 Embedded, Episode 1

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos