Dricus Du Plessis spent most of his UFC 297 with a left eye almost swollen shut, at a deficit on the cards. It wasn't enough to stop him from becoming a champion.
The South African challenger defeated UFC middleweight Sean Strickland by split decision (48-47 x 2, 47-48) on Saturday in Toronto, finishing a rapid ascent up the division going back to Oct. 2020.
