Morning Report: Dricus du Plessis says Sean Strickland’s win was ‘very clear’: ‘I don’t owe Sean anything’

Dricus du Plessis doesn’t tip during his title run. Not to Sean Strickland, anyway.

The UFC middleweight title has been a bit of a hot potato ever since Alex Pereira entered the promotion and threw the entire MMA ticket into question. No one has managed to defend the belt since Pereira captured it in November 2022 against Israel Adesanya, who won it back and lost it to Strickland before losing it to du Plessis at UFC 297 in January.

The split-decision victory was a competitive one, but not overly controversial, despite its close nature. Strickland was naturally the most vocal about an immediate rematch, but he didn’t get one when he bounced back with a split decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. Now, he has no intention of fighting anyone who isn’t the champion. Unfortunately for him, du Plessis sees no reason to make “Tarzan” priority No. 1 after he defends against Adesanya at UFC 305 next Saturday.

“I don’t owe Sean anything,” du Plessis told Kevin Iole. “The rules are pretty clear. It’s scored round by round. The fact that it was a split decision is the biggest shock for me. It was a clear win for me. But like I said, for me the biggest fight is the fight that I want, the fight that the fans want to see. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who pay for the tickets, buy the pay-per-views and, you know, they’re the ones who watch this sport. So for me, the Adesanya fight was by far the biggest fight that I could do. It’s probably the biggest fight of the year, at least one of them. The Strickland fight, for sure. I mean, if that’s the fight that makes sense, then that’s the fight I’m going to fight.

“I would have had no problem with the rematch. I even told the UFC, I said, ‘No problem.’ If they want to do the rematch, if ‘Izzy’ is not ready to fight or something, Strickland rematch, I’m more than willing. Even in Vegas in his hometown. I have no problem with that. They decided to skip the Adesanya fight, which is great for me. Either way, it would have been great because they were both big fights. Me and Strickland would be even bigger the second time around. But I mean, this fight is huge. So yeah, after this, we’ll approach whatever comes after this. But it’ll be interesting to see if Strickland even comes close to being in the conversation with the Kamzat Chimaev-Robert Whitaker fight coming up soon.”

Strickland’s mildly disappointing Costa win feels like a far cry to earn him his second shot at UFC gold. How long he’ll wait is a story in itself, considering how active he’s been historically.

As du Plessis noted, Whittaker vs. Chimaev at UFC 308 in October is almost certainly a title eliminator, as it was originally scheduled for UFC Saudi Arabia in June. Meanwhile, other wildcard options have been teased, most recently on Wednesday’s Morning Report, when lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez talked about a move up to middleweight.

“StillKnocks” understandably laughed at the idea.

“Everybody can dream, right?” du Plessis responded to Mendez’s teasing. “I always say, never limit your dreams. Dream big, but he dreams very big. I am very big (laughs).

“Of course, everyone wants that in this sport. Especially after it’s done. I totally understand going to another division and fighting for another title, because there comes a point where it makes sense and Makhachev right now there are still people left to fight. Listen, I’m not the one who’s going to say, no, not yet. I’m one, for one, who says you have to defend your title at least three times, maybe four times, depending on what the division looks like. You have to defend your title three times before you even consider moving up. Unless there’s a special circumstance, which makes sense.”

A middleweight champion vs. lightweight champion matchup is certainly a fanciful one. What wouldn’t be so crazy is the middleweight champion challenging the light heavyweight champion, which du Plessis is interested in.

First priority: Get Adesanya out, cement his legacy at 185 pounds and then explore other title opportunities.

“I agree 100 percent that when people win a belt they immediately say, ‘I want to be a double (champion).’ You’re not Conor McGregor,” du Plessis said. “He was the first to do it, and he did it in spectacular fashion. He was the trendsetter. He was the pioneer in doing that. So now everyone is trying to be like that. That’s not the case. I mean, I understand being a double champion. I want to be a double champion in my career, but I’m not thinking about doing that anytime soon. The first (goal) is to become the most dominant middleweight in the world, and then get to a weight loss and cement that legacy there.”

Challenges. Chad Mendes explains why Jose Aldo, not Conor McGregor, was his toughest opponent

Duration. UFC: ESPN raised PPV prices ‘a little faster and a little higher’ than expected, leading to more piracy

Rivals. Belal Muhammad laughs at ‘coward’ Colby Covington’s calls for title fight: ‘Biggest clown in the UFC’

Changes. Daniel Cormier explains why he’s against ABC’s decision to legalize 12-to-6 elbows in MMA

$$. UFC 306 ‘even more expensive’ than expected, but Sphere event could deliver biggest live broadcast ever

Victory. Spencer Lee takes Olympic gold for US, but Aaron Brooks suffers last-second loss

Predator. Francis Ngannou: PFL debut against Renan Ferreira will remind everyone ‘who I am’

Location. UFC 307 Officially Announced for October 5 in Salt Lake City

Family. Aleksandre Topuria, brother of champion Ilia Topuria, signs with UFC

Between the links.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin talks to Belal Muhammad.

UFC Vegas 95 Preview.

UFC muted.

Full battle.

PFL Fight Camp.

Chandler medicine ball circuit.

Nice Ninja Choke from Mount.

Big shout out to Morning Report reader “adamburgerdavis” for suggesting the playlist idea in the comments! After the suggestion, I’ve been meaning to make one big one or separate ones per month since I started… but I started the MM in April 2023, so that’s quite a bit of a setback, unfortunately… Oh well. Better late than never! Start your weekend off right with a little Orbit Culture today.

Go to Twitter, use the hashtag #MorningReport or search any of my tweets with that hashtag and send me a jam that you’re really into right now. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily picks and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — they’re just harder to sift through sometimes!

This month’s full playlist:

Pleasure.

Yes, please.

Oscar really hates Canelo.

Don’t let Dana see it.

He tried.

Melissa Mullins (6-1) against Montserrat Rendon (6-1); UFC Vegas 100, November 9

No direct rematches for anyone who wasn’t robbed or a long defending champion. Sean never fit the mold. No controversy. Simple.

Happy Friday, everyone! Relatively quiet weekend for MMA…but UFC 305 is up next. Should be fun. Enjoy and stay safe out there in the big, crazy world. Thanks for reading!

If you find something you would like to see in the morning report, please go to @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.