Strickland and du Plessis collide in the main event of UFC 297 on Saturday night in Toronto for the UFC middleweight championship. After a roller-coaster build that saw everything from personal trash talk, to an in-the-crowd skirmish at UFC 296, to eventually exchanging pleasantries during fight week, the headliners went face-to-face one last time — with Strickland not even stepping on the scale, and du Plessis being held back — at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, before giving their final thoughts on the matchup.
Both fighters are basically different in how they achieve victory and expected to be testing to each other’s weak points.
While Strickland favours standing and striking, Du Plessis likes rolling about on the canvas with his opponents if they proved too invincible on their feet. It is official that the last thing Strickland who is a Jujitsu black belt wants is to lie on the floor with the South African.
Du Plessis: Sean Strickland has asked for death.. I will fulfill your wish, my friend, before tonight’s confrontation
دو بليسيس: لقد طلب شون ستريكلاند الموت.. سأحقق رغبتك يا صديقي pic.twitter.com/S1ffuML2hX
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) January 20, 2024
Sean Strickland became the UFC middleweight champion by beating Israel Adesanya last year, but both of them preferred kicking and punching while standing. How the champion started reducing space for Adesanya and continued pecking on him with energetic blows till he wore him out is still special to many fans.
But this will be an entirely different game for Strickland who will be meeting a man who though likes throwing punches too, is a master at taking the fight to the floor. Furthermore, Du Plessis usually gets the upper hand there.
‘I ain’t got no predictions,’ Du Plessis said. ‘Like they say, be careful what you wish for. He asked for death. Your wish has been granted, my friend.’
"You asked for death. Your wish has been granted, my friend."
Dricus du Plessis tells Sean Strickland to "be careful what you wish for" 🥶 #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/JEbiwv4P20
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 19, 2024
