Strickland: 'I thought we got the job done' against Du Plessis

TORONTO - Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland believes he should've walked out of Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night with the belt around his waist.

Strickland, who lost a split decision to Dricus Du Plessis in his first title defense in the UFC 297 main event, tweeted early Sunday morning he thought he won the fight.

"Man, that headbutt really made it difficult to see, but I thought we got the job done. Blood and all," Strickland wrote. "On to the next one!"

Strickland claimed a headbutt from Du Plessis "split open" his eye, bloodying his face and affecting his visibility. However, the commentators made no mention of a clash of heads on the broadcast, and Du Plessis said after the fight he wasn't aware that a clash of heads had occurred.

"Sucks to lose that way but this is the game," Strickland wrote in an Instagram post.

UFC CEO Dana White agrees that Strickland did enough to earn the judges' nod.

"I had it 2-2 going into the last round, and I thought Strickland won the last round," White said at the postfight press conference.

"It was a close fight. I thought Strickland looked great in the first two rounds. I mean, the jab was f-----g beautiful. You don't see jabs like that in MMA."

Du Plessis said it was "bullshit" that White scored the fight for Strickland.

White added that he won't consider booking an immediate rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland.

Strickland had captured the 185-pound belt just last September with a shocking win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, capping off a Fighter of the Year-worthy campaign.