SEAN STRICKLAND was left smothered in blood after having his nose broken by Dricus Du Plessis.
DDP retained his middleweight title and beat the American for a second time at UFC 312 last night.
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Du Plessis controversially won their previous bout to take the belt from Strickland last year.
But there was no disputing the winner in their rematch, with the South African fighter landing brutal blows throughout.
He even broke his rival’s nose with a powerful right hand in the fourth round.
Blood began to spew out and his face was covered as Strickland gruesomely tried to move it back into place.
The 33-year-old impressively battled on and the fight went the distance.
But the judges unanimously scored it 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
After the fight, Strickland said from the octagon: “When that f***** broke my nose, I was like that doesn’t f****** feel right.
“I popped it back in place and I kept fighting for you.
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“That man is a bad mother-f*****. He kicked my a** fair and square. Props to him.”
Du Plessis, who was successful in his second title defence after beating Israel Adesanya in August, added: “I’m trying to knock this man out, to knock him out is next to impossible.
“I’d love another round, but that’s not the game. I gave it my all, I’m sorry I couldn’t get him out of here.
“It was really hard, once I saw him grabbing at his nose. It took me about 30 seconds to a minute to get everything back to composure.”