Sean Strickland Reveals Nose Was Broken 'In Six Places' at UFC 312

Sean Strickland is taking his loss against Dricus Du Plessis in stride.

Strickland challenged Du Plessis in a middleweight title rematch at UFC 312 this past weekend in Australia. Du Plessis defended his title via a lopsided unanimous decision, also leaving Strickland with a shattered nose. Addressing his injury, Strickland said that his nose is so badly broken that it was easy to reset.

“Hey, what up, guys? We’ve been here once or twice. I’m so grateful for you guys’ support. You guys are so awesome, win or lose, you guys always ride and I appreciate you,” Strickland said on Instagram. “Dricus, f—king hats off, hell of a fight, broke my nose in six places. The silver lining is my nose is so broken it’s really easy to reset, so that was a new experience.”

Strickland further thanked his fans who continue to support him while urging them to take inspiration from him during difficult times.

“I’ll be quick. I get so many messages from fans, friends, family, like, ‘Hold your head up, it’s OK.’ You guys, I’m good dude. Losing sucks, but like we all lose in life and I talk to so many people whether they lose their job, their girlfriend breaks up with them, and they just find themselves in this hole, but like, me, I love the misery, I love the suffering,” Strickland said. “Because when you’re miserable, when you’re in pain, when you’re suffering, the moment that’s gone, and it will end, it will be a new day, a better day, life’s good. So I’m grateful and being grateful kind of keeps my head up. For you guys going through it, look at me, I just broke my nose in front of millions of people. It f—-ing sucks. I lost a fight, and I’ve still got to wake up tomorrow and hold my head up and be, like, ‘Hey man, it’s a new day. Got to sack up and be a man. So for you guys going through it, look at me, and I hope that, f—-ing, your day gets better.”

Strickland initially lost the title via split decision against Du Plessis at UFC 297 last year in Canada. Du Plessis went on to defend his strap against Israel Adesanya via submission at UFC 305 later that year. Meanwhile Strickland earned an emphatic decision win over Paulo Costa and insisted on a title rematch. The Xtreme Couture representative was criticized for inactivity and the lack of willingness to go for broke during his loss against “Stillknocks” at UFC 312.

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