The Scorecard | UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis

Given the rich history of boxing in South Africa, home to world champions like “Baby” Jake Matlala, Brian Mitchell, Corrie Sanders and Lehlo Ledwaba, just to name a few, it’s surprising that no one ever broke through to the championship level in the UFC. But Dricus Du Plessis changed that last weekend when he defeated Sean Strickland for the middleweight crown, and it was a big win not just for “Stillknocks,” but for a generation of fighters who might now see MMA as a career path instead of boxing. As for the new champ’s immediate future, he made no bones about fighting former titleholder Israel Adesanya, and that’s a stylistic matchup made for fireworks at 185 pounds.

2 – Raquel Pennington

If you’ve been a UFC fan for any length of time, you had to feel happy for new women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington. She paid her dues, got a shot at Amanda Nunes in 2018, and it wasn’t a good night for “Rocky.” Most would have been resigned to life as a contender, but Pennington kept her eyes on the prize, battled through injuries and layoffs and won five straight in the process. Saturday night was her redemption song, and she sang it on key all night en route to a win over Mayra Bueno Silva. Mission accomplished, world champion.

3 – Neil Magny

Speaking of veterans keeping the dream alive, Neil Magny did just that in Toronto when he defeated Mike Malott via third round TKO. All but written off when matched up with the Canadian rising star, Magny showed that there’s no substitute for experience as he weathered a two-round storm from Malott and roared back to end matters in the final frame. Malott will be back, but the key takeaway is that “The Haitian Sensation” is still here.

4 – Jasmine Jasudavicius

When Jasmine Jasudavicius arrived in the UFC in early 2022, it was with quite high expectations. Two years later, fans got to see what all the fuss was about as the Canadian tore through Priscila Cachoeira before submitting her in the third round. It was as dominant a performance as you will see in the Octagon, and while she’s shown flashes of her potential over her previous three UFC wins, this one marked her as a serious threat who is living up to the hype.

5 – Gillian Robertson

Gillian Robertson has a host of UFC records to her name, is in shouting distance of a few more, and she’s not only 28 years old. Point being that for a fighter who may not even be in her physical prime, the best is most certainly yet to come. In her return to Ontario, “The Savage” was in top form in finishing Polyana Viana in the second round, and it’s about time she starts getting the respect she’s earned.