Sean Strickland recalls how career-worst injury nearly incapacitated him against Dricus du Plessis and the only thing that got him through it

Sean Strickland revisited his title matchup with Dricus du Plessis, where he suffered a serious injury in the middle of the contest. In addition, Strickland shared what helped him survive the fight.

Strickland defended his middleweight title for the first time last year at UFC 297 against du Plessis, following a resounding victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. An alleged head butt from the reigning champion caused 'Tarzan's' left eye to slit open during the fourth round of the bout.

Ultimately, after a fiercely contested five rounds, du Plessis was declared winner via split decision.

The outcome of the fight caused a great deal of controversy among the MMA community, including UFC CEO Dana White, who felt Strickland had done more than enough to have his hand raised.

During a recent interview with Brett Okamoto on ESPN MMA's YouTube channel, upon being asked what was going through his mind after getting the nasty cut, Strickland said:

''I remember there's a moment I wiped my blood out of my eye, and I'm like I can't see...so it's like the moment that left eye goes, you're just like everything is just different...I can't see a punch. I didn't take damage until the eye got cut and I was like man I can't see punches.''

Strickland then disclosed that his striking coach Ray Sefo's instruction to not give up was what helped him get through the fight:

''If it wasn't Ray Sefo talking to me, I heard Ray Sefo's voice, 'hey, I'm grown a*s man, don't be pus*y, put your hands up, bite your mouthpiece and just throw some punches', and I was like, all right Ray Sefo.''

Check out Sean Strickland's comments below (17:32):

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Sean Strickland is pleased to have Alex Pereira on his side for UFC 312

Sean Strickland will have the opportunity to reclaim his middleweight title when he faces Dricus du Plessis in a rematch at UFC 312 on Feb. 8 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Strickland expressed his happiness over having former opponent Alex Pereira in his corner for his upcoming fight, saying:

''He [Pereira] said he’s down. He’s a good dude, man. He’s such a good f*cking dude. He has a tough fight coming up against (Magomed) Ankalaev and if he needs me for that, I’ll be out to help with him. So it kind of goes mutual.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Check out the full interview below: