On January 20, in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada, Du Plessis defeated Strickland by split decision to win the belt.
“I genuinely thought I did enough to get the win. But, you know, when it comes to the judges' decision, it's always 50-50. When they started announcing that split decision, I've never prayed so hard in my life. Because now it all came down to the opinion of one judge who might not like my green shorts. So I stood and prayed: “Please let the right guy win,” the South African admitted in an interview with PrimeSportsWithMahlatse.
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Strickland is not going to rematch Du Plessis in Australia