Foul-mouthed Sean Strickland reclaimed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title this past weekend (Sat., May 9, 2026), defeating Khamzat Chimaev via razor-close split decision in UFC 328’s main event inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (official scorecards here).
One man paying very close attention cageside was former champion Dricus du Plessis — the only fighter to defeat Strickland twice.
And after watching Strickland reclaim the belt, “DDP” used some classic MMA
math to crown himself champion again.
“Yeah, so the fight went exactly the way I thought it would,” du Plessis said backstage. “Great, great fight by Strickland. As I said, it is so hard to keep that man on the ground. He is incredibly tough to hold down. And he even made Khamzat tired — and that’s exactly what happened.”
“I knew that in the stand-up, Khamzat would not be able to hang with him,” du Plessis continued. “So, congratulations. I guess that makes me world champion again.”
It was a very Sean O’Malley-esque moment from du Plessis — except instead of pretending a loss never happened, the South African simply used MMA math to claim ownership of the title.
Unfortunately for “Stillknocks,” that isn’t how the sport works.
Nevertheless, Du Plessis first defeated Strickland via split decision at UFC 297 to capture the Middleweight title, then beat him again in their rematch at UFC 312, leaving the outspoken American 0-2 against him.
The former champion has not fought since losing the belt to Chimaev last year, but is expected to return sometime around International Fight Week…and if he wins, a trilogy might be unavoidable.
For complete UFC 328 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.
