Dricus du Plessis put a full stop at the end of his rivalry with Sean Strickland as he dominated their rematch at UFC 312 in Sydney.
Middleweight champion Du Plessis had spent much of the build-up expressing his displeasure at the scoring of his split decision victory in their first meeting just over a year ago.
The South African claimed the title that night and, having defended successfully against Israel Adesanya in the interim, dispelled any doubts as to his superiority over Strickland with a clear if somewhat drab victory Down Under.
“This was a big proving point for me, (but) I don’t want to make it a habit of these decisions,” Du Plessis, the first ever South African to hold a UFC title, said.
“The game plan here was stay calm, because (my coach) said, ‘You know you can knock somebody out. We know you have that dog (in you). Try and stay calm'. Because It was really hard once I saw him grabbing at his nose.”
Du Plessis, who had handed Adesanya his first ever submission defeat last August, improved to 23-2. He is on a nine-fight win streak.
The first round saw Strickland (29-7) trying to establish his jab, while Du Plessis stayed aggressive with an array of kicks. Strickland continued to approach his attacks cautiously in the second round, attempting to pick his spots. Other than a strong right hand early in the round, it was Du Plessis who won the significant-strikes battle, 28-17.
The third session drew more boos than it did action through the first half of the round, until an overhand right, and later a spinning back fist by Du Plessis landed.
The fourth round saw the most action, with the champion breaking Strickland’s nose with a hard right punch and then applying non-stop pressure on his challenger. While the first three rounds were close, Du Plessis dominated the fourth.
Du Plessis continued to pepper Strickland’s nose in the final round, while staying on the attack to confirm the win. All three judges scored for Du Plessis (50-45, 50-45, 49-46). In his post-fight interview the champion declared himself top three in the promotion, and said it was his aim to become pound-for-pound number one.
In the co-main event, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili (26-3-0) overcame a rough first round and controlled more than 21 minutes of her title defense against number one contender Tatiana Suarez (11-1-0) to earn a unanimous decision to retain her belt.
Zhang has won her past four title defenses, three by unanimous decision and the other by second-round submission.
Earlier in the night, heavyweight Tallison Teixeira (8-0-0) made his UFC debut by scoring a first-round TKO over Justin Tafa (7-5-0). That made it eight straight bouts Teixeira has ended in the first round, this one lasting just 35 seconds.
In an action-packed light heavyweight bout, Jim Crute (12-4-2) and Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-1) both turned in impressive performances. Crute dominated the first round, while Bellato was better in the second. A very close third left the judges turning in a majority draw.
In a three-round welterweight bout, Jake Matthews (21-7-0) defeated Francisco Prado (12-3-0) by unanimous decision.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
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RESULTS
ATP China Open
G Dimitrov (BUL x3) bt R Bautista Agut (ESP x5)
7-6, 4-6, 6-2
R Nadal (ESP x1) bt J Isner (USA x6)
6-4, 7-6
WTA China Open
S Halep (ROU x2) bt D Kasatkina (RUS)
6-2, 6-1
J Ostapenko (LAT x9) bt S Cirstea (ROU)
6-4, 6-4
ATP Japan Open
D Schwartzman (ARG x8) bt S Johnson (USA)
6-0, 7-5
D Goffin (BEL x4) bt R Gasquet (FRA)
7-5, 6-2
M Cilic (CRO x1) bt R Harrison (USA)
6-2, 6-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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