South Africa's Dricus du Plessis cruised to victory by unanimous decision in his UFC 312 middleweight title fight against Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia on Sunday morning.
The rematch between the two fighters was rather one-sided. Du Plessis, who took the belt off American Strickland via a split-decision in January last year, was in total control throughout the fight, with Strickland looking to hold on rather than taking the fight to the champion.
This was Du Plessis' second defence of his title after beating Israel Adesanya in Australia last year. The South African-born fighter is now also rated as the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC after the win.
Du Plessis came into the fight under a cloud, with many South Africans not happy with him for retweeting misinformation about Exploration Bill and wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt.
US president Trump on Saturday cut off funding to South Africa and signed a executive order classifying "Afrikaners" as refugees and inviting them to relocate to the United States. However, AfriForum later said they would like to stay in South Africa.
Du Plessis came out of the changeroom with the South African flag and national anthem blaring through the area's speakers, before it was cut off for a different song just as "Die Stem" was about to start.
Du Plessis looked really calm and focussed ahead of the fight, and went to work immediately by putting the pressure on Strickland.
Strickland, as expected, threw many jabs, but Du Plessis landed kicks with his left foot to the head and body of the American. The South African also landed the most decisive punches in the first round.
The second round saw Du Plessis go to work with that kick. The American kept on jabbing, but it was the champion who landed the most meaningful actions in the second round.
Strickland's corner encouraged him to add to his jab, and have more of a go with his right hand. But he just couldn't lay a hand on Du Plessis, because he was just too predictable.
Du Plessis broke Strickland's nose in the opening minute of round four and tried to go to work to end the fight with a flurry of punches. Strickland managed to compose himself, but took a few heavy blows to the face at the end of the round.
Strickland managed to survive that round, but had to come out in the fifth and final round to try and claw back some of the points he had conceded in the previous rounds. Essentially, he had to come out and try to knock Du Plessis out.
But the South African remained in control, with his superior physicality coming through. In the end, Strickland just had too big of a mountain to climb. Du Plessis, with a workmanlike performance, remains the best middleweight fighter on the planet.
@JohnGoliath82