"Forever grateful" - Sean Strickland sends classy message to Dricus du Plessis and reflects on UFC 312 loss

Sean Strickland took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the crushing middleweight title loss to Dricus du Plessis. The pair headlined UFC 312 just hours ago, and the fight transpired disastrously for Strickland, who couldn't much going and failed to make any of the tactical adjustments his coaches asked of him.

Despite enduring a frustrating night that likely marked the end of his spell as a middleweight title contender, at least until du Plessis loses the title, if he ever does, Strickland had a relatively positive reaction to the defeat. First, he captioned his Instagram post with a message of gratitude.

"Nothing I'd rather do in the world! Thank you for allowing me to do what I love!!! Forever grateful"

This gratitude was also a theme in the clip he featured in his post, which also included some kind words for du Plessis.

"Hey, what's up guys? We've been here once or twice. I'm so grateful for you guys' support, man. You guys are so awesome, win or lose, you guys always ride and I appreciate you. Dricus, f*cking hats off to you. [That was] a hell of a fight. Broke my nose in six places. Silver lining is my nose is so broken it's really easy to reset, so that was a new experience."

Check out Sean Strickland's post-fight UFC 312 thoughts:

While Strickland is grateful, the loss is a bitter one, as he has now suffered two defeats at du Plessis' hands, and barring a lengthy win streak of jaw-dropping proportions, he is unlikely to fight for the middleweight title again so long as the South African is still champion.

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Sean Strickland had a similar message about gratefulness in his post-fight interview

While UFC 312 was as lopsided a loss as Sean Strickland has ever suffered in the middleweight division, besides perhaps his knockout loss to Alex Pereira, he was in relatively good spirits for the post-fight interview. He didn't sulk or offer any excuses for his subpar performance. Instead, he thanked Australian fans.

"I f*cking love you guys, man! When that f*cker broke my nose, I was like, 'Oh, that doesn't feel right.' Popped it back in place, I kept fighting for you. The Dutchman is a bad motherf*cker. He kicked my a**, fair and square. Props to him. Take your microphone, DC [Daniel Cormier], I'm leaving. Hey, you guys, I f*cking love you guys! You fueled me, and I would break my nose for you f*ckers any day of the week! Have a good one!"

Check out Sean Strickland's post-fight interview:

The interview was a far-cry from Strickland's past reaction to his first loss to du Plessis, which Strickland didn't think was justified.