Strickland Reveals Injury in Du Plessis Rematch

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland disclosed in a recent interview that he fought Dricus du Plessis while nursing a shoulder injury at UFC 312 last February, claiming the promotion pressured him to accept the bout despite his condition.

Strickland, who lost the title to du Plessis by split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024, detailed the injury during an appearance on the Kairouz Bros podcast. He explained that he broke his shoulder while riding dirt bikes with motocross athlete Axell Hodges shortly before the rematch. At the time, Strickland was in Colombia undergoing stem cell treatment for the injury. "Before the Dricus fight, I was f***ing around with Axell Hodges, and I broke my shoulder," he said. "So I was in Colombia getting stem cells on my shoulder, and f***ing they hit me up for the fight and the thing with the UFC, dog, you don't say no. They are pimps. You don't say no to the masters. So I was kind of like backed up into a corner taking that fight."

The rematch ended in a unanimous decision loss for Strickland, dropping his record against du Plessis to 0-2. Between the two fights, Strickland secured a split decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302...