UFC 297: Ex-Champ Lauds Co-Headliner Over Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Both title bouts at UFC 297 went the full 25-minute distance.

One former UFC champion isn't interested in hearing any arguments that the UFC 297 headliner between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis was better than the night’s co-main event.

UFC 297 Results: Fighter Suffers Life-Changing Beatdown in Prelim Fight

The first UFC PPV of 2024 featured two title bouts at the top of the card, and the event saw Raquel Pennington claim the vacant women’s bantamweight belt when she bested Mayra Bueno Silva before Du Plessis won a split decision over Strickland to close out the night.

The highly-anticipated event in Toronto had plenty of eyes on it, and former bantamweight queen Miesha Tate was quick to react to fan criticism of the co-main event after that fight concluded.

Man you guys are a tough crowd that fight was way better than I had anticipated, Raquel had such a long layoff I thought it would take her longer to find her rhythm. fight was busy and multiple sub attempts. Rocky almost KOd Mayra at one point. u all not paying attention #ufc297.

— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) January 21, 2024

Strickland made major headlines ahead of UFC 297 for criticizing the fact that the card's co-main event was a women’s bout, and “Cupcake” didn’t seem especially impressed by the former champion’s losing effort against Du Plessis based on her response to a fan’s comment.

Well no disrespect but you can’t claim the main event was any more exciting. Solid fights but if we must compare I thought the co main was much more dynamic and much closer to finishes multiple times https://t.co/lvPncYBvTi

— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) January 21, 2024

While neither title fight at UFC 297 will go down among the best bouts the promotion has ever put on, the co-main event did see Bueno Silva attempt several submissions and have big moments of early success before Pennington took over late and began battering the exhausted Brazilian.

The night’s headlining bout played out somewhat surprisingly considering most fans seem to think a longer fight would favor Strickland, but Du Plessis was able to survive a late flurry from his opponent and make sure that two new champions were crowned in Toronto.

UFC 297: Sean Strickland Fans React to Split Loss Against Dricus Du Plessis

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA

Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook.