Previewing Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis

UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland takes on rising contender Dricus Du Plessis in the first numbered card of 2024 at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada. While it originally seemed the two would have no ill will toward each other considering their equal hatred towards former champ Israel Adesanya, it quickly became clear that was not the case at the seasonal press conference before UFC 296. Tempers flared as fighters traded insults, with Strickland wasting no time throwing homophobic slurs in the South African's direction, referring to Dricus' relationship with his coaches that transcends the normal friendship, at least what we have in America. Dricus was quick to respond to Strickland, bringing up his father who used to abuse him, telling Strickland the beating he gives him is going to be even worse than his father's. As it grew personal, it became clear there was real tension between the fighters. 

Moving forward to the UFC 296 event, Strickland and Du Plessis were both in attendance, sitting only a couple rows from each other (not the best seating). As the cameras panned to them, words were exchanged and within a matter of moments, Strickland had jumped the row of chairs behind him and began fighting his future opponent. Though it was quickly broken up and no injuries occurred, it has helped build the storyline for the future fight. 

On January 20 in Toronto, Canada the talking will be done when the octagon door closes and only one will emerge victorious. Looking at the two fighters, have had very different paths to this fight. Sean Strickland made his UFC debut in 2014 and has slowly climbed the ranks. He was a highly-ranked fighter in the division but seemed to have trouble getting a title shot, as losses to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier delayed his opportunity. After a two-fight win streak following the Cannonier loss, Strickland was given the shot even though he was not the top-ranked fighter in the division because Adesanya had already run circles around the division, beating anyone the UFC put in front of him. It felt like it would be more of the same as Israel opened as a massive favorite over Sean and no fans gave Strickland much of a shot to take out the future Hall of Famer. To everyone's surprise, in one of the biggest upsets of 2023, Sean defeated the former champ-handedly, winning all five rounds after securing a knockdown in the first. His relentless pressure and slick boxing defense gave Adesanya fits for the entire fight, thanks to coach Eric Nicksick's incredible game plan. 

On the other side of the octagon will be Dricus Du Plessis, who is also coming off a massive upset win against perennial top contender Robert Whittaker. Du Plessis was originally scheduled to fight Adesanya as the new number-one contender in the division, however, it was too quick of a turnaround for Dricus who had injuries and wanted more time to gameplan for his championship fight. For that reason, the UFC turned to Sean Strickland to fight the champ, and the rest is history. Du Plessis is three years younger than his opponent with a lot less experience in the UFC octagon, as he made his debut in 2020. Despite the lack of experience compared to his opponent, Dricus has certainly proven to have earned this shot with three straight finishes over contenders in the division to get him here. The early knack of Du Plessis was his cardio, as he'd be seen in the octagon breathing heavily with an open mouth, hindering his ability in the later rounds, however since receiving surgery on his nose to help airflow, that problem has gone away. Of course, with this being his first five-round fight in the UFC, it will be interesting to see if his cardio affects him. Dricus is likely the more well-rounded fighter, as he has finished fights by both knockout and submission since December 2022. Strickland, on the other hand, has not notched a submission win since 2014 when he locked in a rear naked choke on Bubba McDaniel at UFC 171. He has earned multiple knockout victories since then, due more to his pressure than his power. This fight will offer a contrast of styles, with Dricus likely to attempt to take Strickland down as he has done to nearly all of his other opponents in the octagon. That will be no easy task against Strickland who boasts a 84% takedown defense over his long illustrious career. While it is certainly possible he gets taken down in the fight, I expect his best attempts to come early in the fight, when he is still fresh, strong, and yet to tire. As the fight prolongs, it will likely be in Stricklands favor. If Dricus is not able to win the first and/or second round of the fight, Strickland should feel confident in his ability to begin applying pressure in the later parts of the third round as well as the fourth and fifth. 

I am taking Sean Strickland to win this fight by decision. Though Dricus looked extremely impressive in his TKO victory against top contender Whittaker, Strickland will present a completely different problem for the South African. This being a five-round fight is a large part of the reason I am picking Strickland. We can not just forget about Dricus' cardio problems earlier in his career and although he got his nose fixed and has looked fine since then, it is certainly something to consider going into his first five round fight.