Dricus Du Plessis channelled his inner Brad Pitt as he called out Alex Pereira after defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 312 to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship.
The South African star won via unanimous decision in Sydney, Australia on Saturday night, but he quickly turned his attention to Pereira after the fight.
Du Plessis quoted Pitt’s iconic depiction of the Greek hero Achilles from the 2004 film ‘Troy’ in the build-up to the contest and did the same in his post-fight interview.
He asked if there was anybody else who wanted to challenge him for the UFC Middleweight Championship with his Brazilian rival Pereira standing just across the ring.
“When he made the pact about only striking, I knew there was a chance he was going to try and wrestle me,” he said.
“Obviously the man does not do mental warfare, he was just straight about it, he wanted to stand and bang.
“I was willing to give that.”
“Since I made the Achilles about making pacts, I said ‘There are no pacts between lions and men’.
“Here is another one from Achilles, and since he [Alex Pereira] is standing on the other side of the octagon, is there no one else?
Strickland pushed Du Plessis to the limit Down Under but was ultimately unable to capture the gold.
Du Plessis dominated the contest and all but guaranteed a points victory after landing a devastating right-hand in round four that caused serious damage to Strickland’s nose.
This is the second time Du Plessis has defeated Strickland.
The South African overcame his rival via split decision at UFC 297 to capture the championship.
The 31-year-old was disappointed to not win by knockout or submission at UFC 312 but was happy with a dominant display over five rounds.
“I told you guys, when I come here I am trying to knock this guy out,” he added.
“I have said it before, to knock this guy out is next to impossible, I would have loved another round but that is not the game.
“I wanted a submission, a knockout or an absolute domination of a five-rounder and that is what I gave.
“I gave it my all, I’m sorry I could not get him out of here but I hope you guys enjoyed it.
“Thank you Sydney for showing me love, I know you guys booed me but to hear this at the end of the fight means the absolute world.
“Sean is an absolute animal and he is deserving of all the hype, thank you Sydney you are incredible.”
THANKS FOR FOLLOWING THE ACTION WITH US
Remember you can watch all the action back on discovery+.
We are less than two weeks away from the biggest boxing card of the year headlined by Dubois-Parker and Beterbiev-Bivol II, which you can watch from 4pm on Saturday February 22, live on TNT Sports Box Office.
DU PLESSIS: IS THERE NO ONE ELSE?
The South African fighter looks at UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira when he says: “Is there no one else?”
“I’m a top three pound-for-pound fighter now and I’m coming for number one.”
DU PLESSIS RETAINS TITLE ON POINTS!
Du Plessis takes the contest 50-45 (twice) and 49-46.
DU PLESSIS-STRICKLAND: ROUND 5
Strickland jabbed pretty well throughout the round but regularly Du Plessis landed more blood flew from his nose, making life difficult. The South African landed a kick upstairs in the last minute which saw blood fly across the mat. He may have taken every round here.
DU PLESSIS-STRICKLAND: ROUND 4
A big right hand from Du Plessis breaks Strickland’s nose and had the American running backwards around the Octagon with blood cascading from the blow. The South African charges at Strickland looking to get him out of there but then settles down with no stoppage looking imminent. Strickland does land a good right to catch Du Plessis’s attention but it is mostly one-way traffic. The American needs a dramatic last round to take the contest.
DU PLESSIS-STRICKLAND: ROUND 3
The South African lands more strikes early in the fight, with either hand. Strickland’s straight shots land midway though the round but takes another big shot, which he does without flinching. Du Plessis lands the flashier shots, a spinning left and roundhouse elbow with Strickland against the fence. Strickland then lands some big right hands before Du Plessis charges at him and takes him to the mat briefly.
DU PLESSIS-STRICKLAND: ROUND 2
The fight still feels it is on the cusp of exploding. Strickland with a good right hand after Du Plessis over committed and then landed a couple of jabs afterwards which bloody the South African’s nose. A jab from Du Plessis cuts Strickland’s mouth. Strickland lands a couple more jabs in the final minute, while Du Plessis lands a good head kick. This feels like Strickland’s round.
DU PLESSIS-STRICKLAND: ROUND 1
Strickland looks to land his jab while Du Plessis attempts kicks to calf and body. Both fighters block most of the shots from other but it seems Du Plessis just has the better of it.
IT’S TIME!!!
The middleweight title fight is moments away.
THE CHAMP MAKES HIS WAY IN
Du Plessis walks in singing the South African national anthem.
STRICKLAND IS ON HIS WAY TO THE OCTAGON
He is accompanied by the American Civil War tune ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’.
MAIN EVENT IS NEXT….
Can Strickland overturn his defeat last year at the hands of the South African champ.
ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS
ZHANG WINS UNANIMOUS DECISION!
Zhang takes the fight 49-46 (twice) and 49-45, consolidating her legacy as one of the greatest women fighters in UFC history. This was not meant to be such a one-sided contest.
ZHANG-SUAREZ: ROUND 5
Zhang encourages the crowd to roar at the start of the round, then immediately gets to work landing a couple of big shots. Suarez lands an elbow and tries to take down Zhang but the Chinese fighter’s excellent defence prevents her from doing this. Zhang then has position with Suarez on the mat and tries to lock in a submission but can’t get decent purchase so settles for ground and pound which sees her opponent’s face bloody further. A dominant performance from Zhang in a fight she came into as second favourite.
ZHANG-SUAREZ: ROUND 4
Zhang lands shots early and then takes down Suarez with an inside trip – the first time she has been taken down in UFC. Zhang puts Suarez in an arm triangle but the challenger gets out of it, but struggles to get her back off the mat. Suarez tries to lock a headlock on Zhang but with both bodies glistening with sweat she cannot get a tight grip and returns to the floor.
ZHANG-SUAREZ: ROUND 3
Zhang with a huge right hand shot catching Suarez in the mouth early in the round – somehow the challenger stays on her feet – but the Chinese fighter defends any attempted takedowns and tees off with either hand for the rest of the round. This fight only looks like going one way now.
ZHANG-SUAREZ: ROUND 2
This time round the champion gets Suarez down and pounds down on the challenger, before she rises to her feet. Standing up Zhang now looks the stronger and lands with a big one-two. Suarez dives at Zhang and holds the champion against the Octagon but the Chinese fighter turns her onto the mat and lands more blows. Easily Zhang’s round.
ZHANG-SUAREZ: ROUND 1
Suarez takes Zhang down in the first minute, the first time she has been down in the UFC. Suarez keeps hold of the half guard and though Zhang blocks most shots, she struggles in vain to get off her back, despite landing some elbows on the challenger. Suarez grabs headlock but Zhang gets out of it in the final minute and has position on top as the round comes to an end.
CO-MAIN EVENT NEXT
This looks like an epic contest between UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili and the number one contender, the unbeaten Tatiana Suarez.
You can watch the action live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+.
TEIXEIRA STOPS TAFA IN ROUND 1!
A huge elbow from Teixeira right on the nose puts Tafa down on the mat and then as the Brazilian follows up with repeated left hands, with Tafa not defending himself, the referee calls a halt to the action – after just 35 seconds.
FIREWORKS EXPECTED!
Aussie Justin Tafa (7-4-1, 7 KOs) takes on Tallison Teixeira (7-0, 6 KOs). No one is expecting this to go the distance.
A MAJORITY DRAW!
Crute won the fight on one card, 29-27, but the other two scorecards saw the fight as a 28-28 draw.
CRUTE-BELLATO: ROUND 3
Crute takes down Bellato but he immediately gets to his feet. Crute still can’t miss with his right hand but Bellato takes him down and holds position on the Aussie’s back midway through the round. Both land on each other in the final minute. Bellato lands good shots in the closing seconds which may get him the last round – and possibly a draw.
CRUTE-BELLATO: ROUND 2
Bellato still looks on shaky legs as they resume and is caught with a couple of uppercuts early, however the Brazilian lands some good calf kicks and left hooks to body an head. Though Crute looks gassed he lands big right hands which have Bellato rocking again, but a flurry from his opponent then forces the Australian back. A tough round to call. Crute can barely walk with his left calf so bruised.
CRUTE-BELLATO: ROUND 1
Bellato takes down Crute but the Aussie stays on top of him and has control on the floor for another four minutes, landing brutal elbows and tomahawk punches. Crute then lands a huge right hand which has Bellato’s legs doing a funny dance before falling to the deck. Follow up elbows cause damage around Bellato’s left eye and the referee could well have stopped the contest before the buzzer.
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHTS NEXT…
Home favourite Jimmy Crute takes on Brazilian Rodolfo Bellato.
MATTHEWS CALLS OUT MAGNY
Matthews is desperate to get inside the top 15 and wants to fight the veteran American to do this.
“Neil Magny, come fight me,” Matthews said.
MATTHEWS WINS UNANIMOUS DECISION!
He takes the fight 30-27 on all three cards.
MATTHEWS-PRADO: ROUND 3
It is mostly boxing in the final round and that is to Matthews’ advantage. Prado certainly shows he has a chin for welterweight, taking a couple of big left hooks on the whiskers, but it is hard to see any scoring other than a clear victory for Matthews. He ends the fight with a brutal knee to Prado’s body.
MATTHEWS-PRADO: ROUND 2
Matthews with some brutal body shots and follows up with knees downstairs as well. Prado remains competitive though and lands a couple of high knees in close. When they engage in stand up, the Aussie is getting the advantage though, so Prado sensibly looks for an under hook forcing Matthews against the Octagon in the last minute or so. A big last round needed by the Argentine fighter.
MATTHEWS-PRADO: ROUND 1
Matthews lands a good uppercut, but Prado responds with a good high knee. As the round goes on though Matthews continues to land with straight strikes and opens up a cut above Prado’s eye. There’s a leg-sweep takedown from Prado in the final minute and as Matthews gets up Prado lands a couple of brutal elbows. Matthews lands a couple more big shots and a head kick as the round comes to a close.
MATTHEWS-PRADO UP FIRST
Homegrown fighter Jake Matthews takes on 22-year-old rising star Francisco Prado, who moves up to the welterweight division for the first time.
NEXT COMES THE MAIN CARD…
You can watch all the action on TNT Sports and discovery+.
SANTOS SUBMITS JENKINS IN ROUND 3
A brutal front kick from Santos rocks Jenkins and he immediately gets on his opponent’s back. The Brazilian eventually gets a choke hold and rocks to his back which makes the Aussie tap.
JENKINS-SANTOS: ROUND 2
A frustrating round for Jenkins as Santos had position on the ground for over three minutes following a takedown, landing some brutal elbows on the Aussie.
JENKINS-SANTOS: ROUND 1
A huge right-footed head kick puts Santos down and the Aussie follows with ground and pound. Santos then locks in a leg triangle from his back but Jenkins escapes before he can add an arm bar. Santos ends the round on top on the ground landing some elbows to Jenkins’ head.
JENKINS-SANTOS NEXT
Melbourne fighter Jack Jenkins takes on Gabriel Santos from Brazil.
NOLAN WINS UNANIMOUS DECISION!
He takes the fight 29-28 (twice) and 30-27.
NOLAN-BORSHCHEV: ROUND 3
Borshchev gets Nolan on the deck, but the Aussie produces a couple of brutal kicks from there. Back on their feet, Nolan lands a kick well south of the border and Borshchev took some time to recover. Attemping a takedown Nolan is on his back on the floor again and his willingness to fight from his back maybe costs him as Borshchev ground and pounds, but even from his back he lands brutal elbows leaving the Russian’s head a bloody mess. A great fight!
NOLAN-BORSHCHEV: ROUND 2
Both fighters have their moments of superiority with Nolan landing less but with the more impressive blow including a spinning uppercut. Nolan takes Borshchev down and locked in a choke hold with a minute remaining in the round. It does not stick though and Borshchev gets up and just has the better of the stand up in the rest of the round.
NOLAN-BORSHCHEV: ROUND 1
A competitive round with Borshchev taking Nolan down but the Aussie looking the more effective from range even though the Russian’s strikes look more hurtful when he can get in close.
LIGHTWEIGHTS COMING NEXT…
Tom Nolan takes on Viacheslav Borshchev.
OLD RIVALS WATCHING TOGETHER
WANG WINS UNANIMOUS DECISION!
Wang takes the contest 30-27 on all three cards.
WANG-BRASIL: ROUND 3
Wang stalks Brasil dominating the round, despite her opponent’s best efforts, and even a strong right hand which gets through has little effect on the Chinese fighter who delivers brutal kicks and strikes throughout. The round ends with Wang taking her opponent down to the mat.
WANG-BRASIL: ROUND 2
The Chinese fighter increasingly broke down her Brazilian opponent in the round. Initially with her kicks, then body shots and could not miss with strikes as the round wore off and once more the buzzer ended with Brasil cowering to avoid blows.
WANG-BRASIL: ROUND 1
Both women landing brutal leg kicks on the other. Brasil lands right hands in the first half of the round but Wang began to land crisp jabs as it goes on. She then grabs Brasil’s leg when she attempted a head kick and threw her to the ground landing a couple more strikes before the buzzer sounded.
FLYWEIGHTS ACTION NEXT…
Cong Wang (6-1) from China takes on Bruna Brasil (10-4-1) from, yes, Brazil.
TWO-TIME CHAMP CRUZ ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
TOPURIA WINS ON POINTS
The Georgian fighter takes the bout on all three judges scorecards, 30-27. A little harsh on the Aussie who it feels will be given more UFC fights.
THICKNESSE-TOPURIA: ROUND 3
Topuria gets position on Thicknesse’s back early on but fails to take him to the mat. Thicknesse then lands a big right hand before Topuria takes him down and maintains control on the deck for three minutes. It is a bit unsatisfying and the crowd shower the tactics with boos. Thicknesse battles to his feet but is then brought down to the mat once more and the bout ends with some ground and pound from the Georgian.
THICKNESSE-TOPURIA: ROUND 2
Thicknesse with some good kicks and striking with either hands, while avoiding a lot of Topuria shots. It feels like the Aussie might have taken that round. A fine effort considering how the first ended.
THICKNESSE-TOPURIA: ROUND 1
Thicknesse moves around the Octagon throwing kicks from range while Topuria just stalks and waits for an opportunity to land right hands in close.
Topuria lands a huge right hand with 90 seconds left tin the round. Thicknesse rocks back into the Octagon and Topuria briefly locks in a hold, but the Aussie escapes.
Late in the round, Topuria lands in close with a flurry and then grabs a bear hug and suplexes Thicknesse back onto the mat.
UP FIRST…
Local fighter Colby ‘Slickness’ Thicknesse (7-0) takes on Georgian Aleksandre Topuria (5-1), brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia.
HERE IS THE MAIN CARD WE CAN ENJOY LATER
WE ARE LIVE FROM SYDNEY!
THE ACTION GETS UNDERWAY AT 1AM
We are live on TNT Sports at the top of the hour, when the Prelims will begin in Sydney.
WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
BISPING’S KEYS TO VICTORY IN MAIN EVENt
HELLO AND WELCOME TO UFC 312…
Thanks for joining our coverage of another fantastic night of UFC action on TNT Sports, with the action coming from Sydney, Australia.
How do I watch UFC live streams on TNT Sports?
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
A select number of events will be on TNT Sports Box Office.
TNT Sports Box Office offers both subscribers and non-subscribers pay-per-view access to some of the most exciting events in the calendar.
