Did Sean Strickland break his nose at UFC 312? The exact moment Dricus du Plessis injured 'Tarzan' in title rematch

Sean Strickland went up against Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 312 with the middleweight belt on the line. Despite hurling several cold warnings at 'Stillknocks' leading up to the fight, Strickland ended up taking the more damaging shots throughout the fight.

Although the challenger dictated the pace of the contest early on, it became harder for him to take du Plessis' back-to-back punches and body shots as the fight progressed.

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Did Dricus du Plessis break Sean Strickland's nose?

The turning point came in Round 4 when a huge right hand from the South African connected flush with Strickland's already cut nose and audibly broke it. The commentators were quick to call out the injury as Strickland's nose started bleeding profusely.

Take a look at the exact moment Dricus du Plessis broke Sean Strickland's nose below:

While seated at his corner after the round, Strickland was caught on camera telling his coach Eric Nicksick that his nose was broken but he reset it.

Despite a commendable show of grit, Strickland fell short against du Plessis once again as he lost a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He surpassed Michael Bisping for the most significant strikes in UFC middleweight history (1,385).

During the octagon interview, Strickland once again confirmed his nose was broken, but stated that he was happy to sustain the injury for the fans. He also heaped praise on his opponent, saying:

"The Dutchman is a bad motherf***er. He kicked my a** fair and square. Props to him... I f***ing love you guys. You fuel me. I would break my nose for you f***ers any day of the week."

Du Plessis, meanwhile, tied with Chris Weidman for the longest win streak in middleweight after Anderson Silva (16) and Israel Adesanya (12). Before leaving the octagon, the middleweight champion sent a cryptic message to Alex Pereira, calling him out for a potential future fight.