WATCH: “That counts as a significant strike” – Dricus du Plessis head ‘butting’ Sean Strickland in comical exchange has fans in splits

The middleweight title recently changed hands at the UFC 297 main event on Saturday, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. In the aftermath of a split decision skid to Dricus Du Plessis, the former champ had stuff to say. Sean Strickland humbly acclimated to his loss at first. But the fighter later blamed it on a headbutt for a late-round laceration in the title fight. Du Plessis, however, took a sly jab recently, at such claims.

But it is a whole other ‘headbutt’ that has taken the internet by storm. Recent footage uploaded by a fan account on X (@MigClasse) shows Du Plessis ducking a left jab from Strickland. But the movement takes the fighter down to pelvic level, where his head hits the opponent’s posterior. The whole interaction from Dricus Du Plessis and Strickland has garnered many responses.

A prime reaction quipped “That counts as a significant strike.” Concurrently retorting the head-hit, this is also an inference to Strickland’s jab-fest at the fight. A recent comparison of his bleeding imagery to the fictional character ‘Kratos’ saw the fighter get gibed by the MMA community. Despite starting big, Strickland had failed to execute a finishing move on the rival and spammed a multitude of jabs.

Strickland had his three-fight winning streak snapped in addition to coming up short in his maiden UFC title defense. His 3-0 record in 2023 has earned him the MMA Junkie’s 2023 Male Fighter of the Year accolade. The defeat is his fourth by decision. Despite the change in guard, the latest interaction has, however, already gone viral.

Fans react to hilarious in-fight sequence between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland

After a short title run, Sean Strickland recently failed his first title defense at UFC 297. Going up against Dricus Du Plessis, the fighter lost a split decision. He even later cried foul on receiving a head butt from the opponent, which allegedly compromised his vision during the matchup.

Despite such squabbles and internet banters, it is a whole other interaction that has fight fans piqued. Du Plessis accidentally hit the rival’s posterior end, while ducking his blows.

And here’s how a few fight fans fave reacted to the footage –

A few have thrown shade on ‘Tarzan’ for crying foul on his ugly cut. Subsequently, quite a few fans have also quipped about the ‘ever-evolving’ nature of combat sports and the rules of old.

In case you missed it:

• “Realer than Aljo and Merab” – Chris Curtis’ answer on fighting teammate and good friend Sean Strickland gets praised by fight fans
• “No bullsh**!” Dricus du Plessis SHOCKED after learning Dana White believed Sean Strickland won the fight

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