The middleweight duo went toe to toe on UFC 297 in a fight of the night match.
In the main event of UFC 312, Dricus Du Plessis will defend the title of middleweight in a rematch with the former champion, Sean Strickland.
They met for the first time in January last year in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where a new title holder of 185 pounds was crowned.
Du Plessis earned the middleweight title shot after stopping Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, but he was unable to make the fast turning around to challenge Israel Adesanya on UFC 293 in September 2023.
Strickland took its place and produced one of the greatest disturbances in recent years, and won a one-sided fight against the champion to set up a meeting with the South African in the coming months.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty images
Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland to take his UFC title
The middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland on UFC 297 was difficult to call many fight fans on their way to the event and reflected that.
Du Plessis had won six consecutive fights in the Octagon with five Finishes and many expected his aggressive style to dominate the match early with the more conservative approach of his opponent who gave him an advantage in the championship rounds.
The challenger and his team anticipated this and as a result, 'Still Knocks' was much more reserved in the opening round than normal, but after losing the first five minutes on all three score cards, he increased the pace in the second.
Du Plessis, in the eyes of the two jury members who scored the fight in his favor, won the next three rounds largely to his output with the South African who consistently threw large, striking strikes without ever being discouraged when he failed when he failed To land on his opponent.
Although the champion who gathered in the fifth to win the round, which Du Plessis does not agree, the three rounds that the challenger brought in the middle of the fight saw him win the game through a split decision.
Strickland was determined that he won in the immediate aftermath of the fight, which indicates that this would not be the last chapter between them.
Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland went away separately before they meet at UFC 312
Both men have produced one win in the Octagon since their closely disputed fight on UFC 297.
Firstly, Sean Strickland returned to the profit column by beating Paulo Costa on UFC 302 via a different split decision, and in his mind this secured his place as the next challenger.
The UFC had other plans, because Dricus du Plessis welcomed the former double champion Israel Adesanya to the division and submitted him to UFC 305 in the fourth round, which means that he has now defeated the last three men to fix the 185-pound gold keep.
At UFC 312 on 8 February in the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, they walk back to a crucial moment for the career of both men while we wait to see if it is revenge or repetition on Saturday evening.
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