Dricus du Plessis became the first South African UFC champion after winning a split decision against Sean Strickland at UFC 297.
Dricus du Plessis has just made history. He’s the first South African to become the UFC middleweight champion. This happened at UFC 297, held in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. He won a split decision against Sean Strickland. The event was the first UFC pay-per-view of 2024. It was a night of surprises, with a second new champ crowned and a new featherweight contender emerging.
There’s so much to unpack from UFC 297. Let’s dive right in.
The fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis was highly anticipated. Two reasons for this. First, their styles. Both men are known for their forward pressure, but they apply it differently. Strickland, the champ, is stubborn and enduring. Du Plessis, the challenger, is strong and physical. Who would overwhelm the other first?
The second reason was a question. Who was for real? Strickland, a 10-year UFC veteran, was best known for a brutal loss to Alex Pereira. Then he got a chance to fight Israel Adesanya and everything changed. Du Plessis was seen as a sloppy meme fighter. Then he fixed his nose, defeated Robert Whittaker, and everything changed.
So, who would show up in Toronto? The improved Strickland and du Plessis of 2023, or the old versions? The answer was clear. Both men are as good as they seemed in their last fights. Their five-round match was a grueling test of mettle. I scored it three rounds to two for du Plessis. But it was close. A 48-47 score for Strickland would have been justified.
The middleweight division is becoming one of the best in the sport. The last four title bouts have all resulted in a change of hands. The top of the division feels more competitive than it has in years. It’s a fun dynamic. And it wasn’t clear until Saturday night.
The next middleweight title bout could be a grudge match between du Plessis and either Adesanya or Khamzat Chimaev. Both challengers seem to want it. If 2023 was a historic year for the 185-pound division, 2024 is shaping up to be a hell of a follow-up.
But let’s not crap on someone in their crowning moment. That’s not my style. Raquel Pennington, an 11-year UFC veteran, just became the oldest female champion in UFC history at age 35. She’s fought 17 times in the octagon and won 12 times. She’s beaten Miesha Tate, Jessica Andrade, Irene Aldana, Roxanne Modafferi, Ketlen Vieira, and now Mayra Bueno Silva. She’s as deserving of a title as anyone in the women’s bantamweight ranks.
But is anyone excited about this? Women’s 135 has been the worst division in the UFC since Nunes’ retirement. And now? It’s bleak. Aside from Julianna Peña, there isn’t a single female bantamweight who could generate interest for any of these permutations at the top. Silva was supposed to be that person. The fresh blood. The newcomer. And now it’s back to the drawing board.
How many female bantamweights under the age of 30 are in the UFC’s top-15 rankings? Just one. No. 9 ranked Karol Rosa. That’s it. Pennington’s title opportunity was justified, but she’s no Justin Gaethje. So where is this division heading? Where is the next generation? Where are the contenders? I hate to be the doom-and-gloom guy, but Saturday felt like the nadir of a weight class that has been struggling for a while now. And I’m not sure the future is any brighter.
The knees Arnold Allen hit Movsar Evloev‘s skull with in the third round may not have been legal. But the fact that no one in MMA can agree on these sequences is reason enough for why the hand-on-the-ground rule is so dumb and difficult to officiate. It’s tough for Allen, because the winner of Evloev vs. Allen was likely to get the next featherweight title shot if Alexander Volkanovski beats Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Now Evloev is in pole position to cut the line into that title mix, while Allen is down 0-2 over his past two bouts. That’s the game of inches. It just sucks the story once again centers around the grounded knee rule rather than an otherwise sensational display of high-level martial arts from two of the top young talents set to carry featherweight forward into its next era. Some of the scrambles we saw from Evloev and Allen were the best action on the whole damn card.
Unlike some divisions (ahem), featherweight’s under-30 class remains loaded with premium talent — which is why it always drives me bananas when people proclaim that Volkanovski cleaned out the division — and Evloev and Allen are both young enough to know they’re going to meet again. (Hopefully for five rounds next time.) That being said, as much as this dumb and inconsistent rule leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth, you won’t hear a peep of complaint out of me if we end up getting Volkanovski vs. Evloev in the summer.
Nights like UFC 297 are exactly why Neil Magny is one of the GOAT gatekeepers this sport has ever seen. (The GOATkeeper, if you will.) The man is tailor-made to let young whippersnappers know whether they’re ready for the 170-pound elite or not. Just take a look at his last few opponents. Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry? Very clearly ready. Philip Rowe and Daniel Rodriguez? Unfortunately, not quite there yet. And none of this is meant as a slight! The term “gatekeeper” may have a dirty connotation in combat sports, but it’s a deeply important job and a pathway for a multi-decade career if you’re good at it.
For 14 minutes on Saturday, Mike Malott appeared to pass that test. He went to the Garry and Rakhmonov well and picked Magny apart with a steady diet of kicks and top control. But the GOATkeeper isn’t going to just gift his stepping stone to you. You need to take it by force. And so we came to find out that the latest great Canadian hope may not be quite as ready for a welterweight ranking as many believed — at least not yet. Magny’s gutsy come-from-behind win in the final seconds instantly joins Demian Maia’s fend-off of Gunnar Nelson in the welterweight pantheon of great Not-Today-Young-Fella performances.
The old warhorse still has plenty of fight left in him. You love to see it.
And speaking of that…
I’m always blown away by woodwork figures like Neil Magny who quietly work their way onto the record books through sheer force of will. (If you’re confused about what I mean, here’s Magny’s current collection of UFC records: Most wins in welterweight history, most bouts in welterweight history, longest fight time in welterweight history, most significant strikes landed in welterweight history, and the most decision wins in UFC history. Not bad for a fringe contender who never once sniffed a real shot at the UFC welterweight belt.)
On that note, Gillian Robertson is quietly becoming something to behold. With her second-round knockout of Polyana Viana at UFC 297, Robertson continues to amass a Magny-esque trophy case to her own name: The most finishes in women’s flyweight history (7), the most submissions in UFC women’s flyweight history (6), tied for most bouts in women’s flyweight division history (13), and the most submissions in overall UFC women’s history (7). But most impressive of all is this one: Robertson has now moved into a tie with Jessica Andrade for the second-most finishes in UFC women’s history (9). She’s just one behind the women’s GOAT, Amanda Nunes (10), for first-place on that list. And she’s still only 28 years old.
At this pace, Robertson could hold sole possession of that finishes record by year’s end and start driving it into the stratosphere like the female Charles Oliveira. She may not receive the same acclaim as some of the more ballyhooed contenders at 125 pounds, but the pride of Niagara Falls is forging her own road in the big show, and it’s a damn impressive one.
Pour one out for the 14 seconds of pure bliss Charles Jourdain felt after his undercard