“Bro was not lying” – Fans shocked as Sean Strickland’s prediction for ‘awkward’ face-off with Dricus du Plessis happens in real life

Unhinged champion Sean Strickland's indifference towards opponent in final face-off stirs up a storm.

“Bro was not lying” – Fans shocked as Sean Strickland’s prediction for ‘awkward’ face-off with Dricus du Plessis happens in real life

Fans react to Sean Strickland's awkward stare-off before title defense (Instagram, @UFCFightPass, Twitter)

Fans and peers of the combat sports bubble are mere hours away from the year’s first PPV event. The stage is for Sean Strickland‘s 185lbs maiden title defense at UFC 297. At the opposing end is South African phenom Dricus Du Plessis, with an impressive 95% finish rate; a fact he himself revels in. In the lead-up banter, “Stillknocks” recently even took a jab at the 33% finish rate Strickland, promising to dominate over him.

Strickland is infamous for his brash/unhinged mannerisms, and for bashing fans and peers over his viewpoints. However, given recent events, “Tarzan” has been taking humble strides. This was apparent during his recent sitdown with ESPN MMA‘s Megan Olivi (UFC ‘Embedded‘ Fight Week Vlog – Episode 1), in Las Vegas. Furthermore, a run-in with Du Plessis during ‘Embedded‘ – Episode 3 saw the champion shake on their upcoming feud, which gained much traction from fans.

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Now, a full cycle before the fight night, the fighters had their official weigh-in ceremony and face-off. Concurrently, the champion has stayed true to his sentiments of refusing face-off with the rival. UFC 297 pre-fight ceremonial weigh-in footage shows Strickland proactively avoiding gaze, while Du Plessis takes charge.

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Additionally, this isn’t the first time; the champion also avoided eye contact with Dricus Du Plessis at the official press conference face-off. The uncharacteristic behavior has shocked many fans. A prime response from Strickland himself was to bring back the allure of former controversial combatants like Paige Vanzant and Gina Carano. The interaction thus instigated many responses.

Fans react to Sean Strickland’s last lackluster face-off before title defense

Middleweight champion Sean Strickland and title contender Dricus Du Plessis had a final UFC 297 faceoff at the ceremonial weigh-ins. UFC 297 takes place this weekend at Scotiabank Arena. Following the prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+, the main card will air on pay-per-view.

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at the UFC 297 official weigh-ins
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at the UFC 297 official weigh-ins (Source: UFC.go.com/Twitter)

Staying true to his aspiration of gaining a mental edge, Du Plessis took charge at their final face-off. But heading into their official square-off, Strickland looked visibly dazed, avoiding contact from the title challenger.

And here’s how a few fans have reacted to it –

https://twitter.com/Lykaios0/status/1748511700846854564?s=20

A few fans quipped about him having Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), from repeated head injury; hence the avoidance and blank gaze.

Most other fans though, anonymously agreed that Strickland made it awkward, given the final face-off holds much value for both fighters and fight fans.

Conversely, as the fighter himself had nudged in one of his latest sitdowns, Strickland might actually be letting go of grievances and basing the outcome solely upon his performances. Or it could also be a PR stunt just to fuel that.

Only time will tell what that outcome turns out to be, come this Saturday’s star-studded PPV event.

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