"I believe he won" - Brian Ortega shares his take on controversial outcome of UFC 297 main event between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis
Dricus du Plessis beat Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to claim the middleweight championship. However, featherweight contender Brian Ortega feels 'Tarzan' deserved the judges' nod on the night.
Following the middleweight title bout, many in the MMA community clamored about the American being robbed. Even the promotion's CEO, Dana White, claimed that he had the fight three rounds to two in favor of Strickland.
Now, in an interview with Helen Yee, Ortega has voiced a similar sentiment:
"I had to two to two, and in the end, it was like Strickland picked up the pace. I believe he won on decision, even if you look at the takedowns... Everyone has their own sense of judgment, right? On my sense of judgment, I believe he won that last round, and he pulled off the victory even if he didn't, lets call it a draw, which means he still kind of won. He still kept the belt. So like worse come to worst I would've gave it Strickland or a draw."
Catch Brian Ortega's comments below (6:27):
After the loss, Strickland took to social media to show his disapproval of the result, claiming he won the fight.
It seems many fans are also displeased with the outcome. In a public poll posted by Chael Sonnen on X, MMA fans picked the rematch against 'Tarzan' for du Plessis' first title defense.
Joe Rogan calls for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis rematch at UFC 300
Much like many in the MMA community, UFC commentator Joe Rogan also felt Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis was close and wants the pair to run it back. The 56-year-old feels the fight could be a worthy addition to the upcoming UFC 300 card.
Speculating about a potential rematch during The Joe Rogan Experience Fight Companion episode for UFC 297, the podcaster made his case:
"How about a rematch at [UFC] 300? Why not? Listen, that's a good fight. A rematch! That's a good fight. It's a very quick turnaround for either one of these guys, though... Look, if you have a split decision loss, that is one of the best indicators that it was a close fight, and the kind of fights you want to see a rematch on are close fights... Stitch that f*****g eye up, let's go."
Catch Joe Rogan make his case for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis 2 for UFC 300 below (4:18):