Uncanny Resemblance Between Sean Strickland and God of War Kratos Sends Fans into Frenzy After His UFC 297 Loss
Ava Robinson
Updated on April 03, 2026
UFC fighter Sean Strickland lost his middleweight championship title to South African MMA fighter Dricus du Plessis on January 20. Du Plessis won through a split decision and won the Middleweight Championship, which Strickland had won at UFC 293 after defeating New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya in September 2023.
Dricus du Plessis received a swollen eye, and Strickland received cuts on the right side of his face. Many fans compared Strickland’s bloodied face during the fight to that of Kratos from the legendary game God of War.
Sean Strickland Vs. Dricus Du Plessis
American MMA fighter Sean Strickland fought South African Dricus du Plessis to defend his UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 297, in Scotiabank Arena, Canada. The fight lasted five rounds with many kicks and punches thrown at each other. Strickland lost the bout to Dricus du Plessis despite winning the final round. Du Plessis won on a split decision.
The fight reportedly leaned towards du Plessis after he won rounds 2, 3 and 4. Strickland won the first and final rounds but reportedly gave quite a good fight to du Plessis. Sean Strickland seceded his Middleweight Championship to Dricus du Plessis, which the former had won in 2023 after his fight with Israel Adesanya.
Dricus du Plessis reportedly draped himself with the South African flag after his victory and gave a speech about his win. He said (via MMA Fighting),
“If we go quiet right now, you can probably hear South Africa from here right now!… Sean Strickland, you said to death. I tried to kill you. You are one hell of a man.”
Sean Strickland too seceded the victory with honor as he called du Plessis a champ. The fight resulted in many cuts and bruises for the duo. Strickland called the match a war. Though du Plessis won the match, many considered the win lucky and mentioned that the game could have gone either way.
Sean Strickland Goes Full Kratos Against Dricus Du Plessis
Dricus du Plessis remained undefeated in his UFC tenure with his winning bout against Sean Strickland. Du Plessis had won his previous match against Robert Whittaker in a technical knockout and won the Performance of the Night Award for his skills. Du Plessis was supposed to fight Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship but was reportedly replaced with Sean Strickland after du Plessis suffered an injury.
Sean Strickland won the championship against Adesanya and fought against du Plessis at UFC 297. Though Dricus du Plessis won the championship via split decision, many considered it an even fight and stated that du Plessis’ performance was not as powerful as it was against Whittaker.
Both fighters received injuries with du Plessis getting his right eye swollen and Strickland getting cuts on the right side of his face. The blood dripping from Strickland’s face formed a pattern in which many compared him to Kratos from the game God of War. The former Middleweight Champion seemed to have channeled the warrior demigod in round 5 of the game as he jabbed and punched du Plessis and won the round.
Sean Strickland went full God of War! 🤯#UFC297
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) January 21, 2024
Even Kratos was a better person lol
— Jake Wolf (@wolfman_182) January 21, 2024
Strickland won that fight.
— Ken 🇺🇸☝️🐐 (@heyitskenhere) January 21, 2024
Wish he would fight like it when it mattered
— 「AVICROW」 (@Avicrow) January 21, 2024
If ‘robbery’ was a vid:#UFC297
— Mᴀʀᴛʏs Hᴀɪʀʟɪɴᴇ (@MmaUnderdogs) January 21, 2024
“I think Dricus Du Plessis beat Sean Strickland in that round”
The round: #ufc297
— At The Buzzer (@AtTheBuzzer1) January 21, 2024
strickland fans when jabbing for 25 minutes isnt enough😢
— professional hater (@eightyfourpate) January 21, 2024
Despite his power in the final round of the match, Sean Strickland seemed to have been unlucky as Dricus du Plessis won on a technicality. Fans of Sean ‘Tarzan’ Strickland were outraged over the loss as many felt that he was robbed of his championship. However, others were more critical of Strickland’s performance with many bringing up his underwhelming performance.
