PHOTO: Sean Strickland shares close-up snap of injured eye that he blames for UFC 297 loss - "Wasn't touched till the blood took my vision"

Sean Strickland recently doubled down on his head butt claim and shared a close-up picture of his stitched-up eye after his title loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 last weekend.

Strickland and du Plessis went head to head for the UFC middleweight title in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto last Saturday. Both men pushed each other to the limit, and after five hard-fought rounds, 'Stillknocks' emerged victorious via split decision. The decision proved quite controversial, with many claiming that Strickland deserved to get his hand raised.

In the aftermath, 'Tarzan' alleged that his vision was badly affected due to his opponent headbutting him during the fight, and that factor contributed to him losing the decision. In an Instagram post, Strickland claimed he deserved to win and wrote:

"I didn't take the coward's way out and tell the doctor I couldn't see and got a no contest. The only reason why you took a round from me is because I couldn't see.. I won that fight, the world knows I won that fight. The belt they gave you will never make you a champion, enjoy."

Strickland doubled down on his claims and posted a close-up photo of his badly injured eye with an embedded clip of the moment du Plessis' head hit him in the face. Reiterating that he should've won, Strickland wrote:

"We all know I won... The only reason why it wasn't one-sided for 5 rounds is the headbutt took my eye... Wasn't touched till the blood took my vision."

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Ian Garry on Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland title fight at UFC 297

Ian Garry recently took to social media to share his live reaction to the highly entertaining Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland fight at UFC 297. It's no secret that Garry isn't on good terms with Strickland and was understandably rooting for du Plessis to win.

'The Future' posted a clip of his reaction to X and broke down the fight as it played out. Slamming both fighters for their underwhelming performance, he said:

"I hope Sean gets sparked unconscious. There is no way I would've ever bet against du Plessis losing the fight, considering he mauled Robert Whittaker, and Sean Strickland isn't half the fighter Whittaker is."

He continued:

"Just sloppy boxing. Look, Swinging. Look at this. The f*****g state of this. Zero technique, just slugging it out now. Oh my god, I feel like I'm watching two amateurs fight [laughs hysterically]. If I ever have a fight like that, please tell me to retire... F**k you, Sean Strickland."