Sean Strickland has rolled back his offer to stand and bang with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.
‘Tarzan’ and ‘Stillknocks’ square off in the main event of UFC 312 for Du Plessis’ middleweight title. Du Plessis took the belt from Strickland at UFC 297, and Strickland will be looking for an opportunity for redemption.
Strickland offered Du Plessis a pact to “stand up like men” that involved forgetting the grappling and only striking when they meet in their Sydney brawl. This didn’t go down well with Du Plessis, who snubbed Strickland’s pact, remarking, “There are no pacts between lions and men.”
Strickland has taken this onboard, walking back his gentleman’s agreement.
- ‘EASY PAYDAY’ … Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Islam Makhachev fight suggestion
Sean Strickland welcomes Dricus Du Plessis to ‘cuddle on the ground’ after having stand and bang pact rejected
Speaking to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Strickland reacted to Du Plessis swatting away his offer.
“I talk a lot of s*** bro, but I don’t give a f***, you can wrestle all you want,” Strickland said. “It’s funny to talk s***, it’s funny for one-liners, but you’re an MMA fighter and I’m an MMA fighter.
“You wanna f***** grab my legs, you wanna f****** cuddle on the ground, f****** go full send.”
Sean Strickland’s grappling skills
Primarily operating as a striker, Strickland’s grappling skills are rarely showcased.
In his 22 UFC appearances, Strickland has maintained a 77 percent takedown defense rate. He’s also secured 64 percent of his takedowns. The most Strickland secured was four in his victory over Uriah Hall in 2021.
Grappling was Strickland’s undoing against Du Plessis in their first fight. ‘DDP’ used cage control and takedowns to accumulate damage and control time, which swung the scorecards in his favor.
Du Plessis has an underrated grappling pedigree and once defeated a team of five Gracie Barra black belts back-to-back in a Quintet grappling match. His opponents regularly conflate Du Plessis’ unconventional striking with his grappling, only to find he’s very proficient on the ground.
In Du Plessis’ middleweight title eliminator with Robert Whittaker, he used his grappling to full effect. Du Plessis used a throw to ground an unassuming Whittaker before bloodying him with elbows, leading to the finish later in the fight.