Dana White shares unexpected praise for Sean Strickland following loss to Dricus du Plessis: “It’s actually fascinating”

Dana White believes Sean Strickland's professionalism as a fighter is second to none, as the UFC CEO shared some unexpected praise for the former champion after he lost to Dricus du Plessis. The South African successfully defended his title against Strickland in the main event of UFC 312 on Feb. 8 in Sydney, Australia.

'Tarzan', known for his wild persona, was his usual self ahead of his title fight with Du Plessis. He criticized the Australian government for their gun laws during interviews, among other controversial topics that he raised.

Following the conclusion of UFC 312, White appeared in front of the media and spoke positively about Strickland, saying:

"I'll tell you something fascinating that I noticed tonight for the first time, I don't know why, let's see if you noticed this. So Sean Strickland, the way that he acts leading up to fights. Normally when you have people who act the way that he acts, you see signs of it in a fight. Who is more focused, professional and solid in a fight than he is? When he gets hurt, no sticking out the tongue, or, 'No, no that didn't hurt me.'"

He continued:

"The guy stays focused, keeps coming forward. There's never any hint of how he acts outside the octagon when he's in there. Absolute professional the whole time. It's actually fascinating."

Check out Dana White's praise for Sean Strickland below (1:30):

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Dana White goes off on Australian media for being the "biggest pu**ies" ever

Ahead of UFC 312, Australia's newspaper the Daily Telegraph released a Sean Strickland-themed front page, labeling him as a "the UFC's biggest imbecile". The newspaper's bashing of the former champion left Dana White amused, as he posted an image of the Daily Telegraph's front page on Instagram with the phrase, "LOL", next to it.

Following the conclusion of the pay-per-view event, White appeared in front of the media where he was asked to share his thoughts on the Strickland-Australian media beef. He said:

"For a place that is so tough, everything on land and in the water can kill you. You have the biggest pu**ies I've ever seen in the media in my life. I saw a story where a guy was like, 'I saw Dana do a podcast with the Premier and it physically made me sick.' Holy f**king s**t. You guys have to have the biggest pu**ies of all time in the media." [18:30-19:00 in Dana White's aforementioned interview]

Catch the Daily Telegraph front page below: