UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland will be intense, it will be bitter, it will be bloody – and when all is said and done, it certainly won’t be boring.
South African champion Dricus Du Plessis barely knows the meaning of the word ‘boring’.
Even in his closest contests and most brutal defeats, Du Plessis’ fights remain as exciting as they come.
Yet as he prepares to face ‘stand-and-bang’ brawler Sean Strickland this coming weekend in Australia, the king of the 185lb division has revealed why he’s so good at getting fans off their seats.
- BOLD PREDICTIONS: Dricus Du Plessis promises to stop Sean Strickland at UFC 312
Dricus Du Plessis explains why his fights are so entertaining ahead of UFC 312
In 24 fights as a professional MMA fighter, Dricus Du Plessis has only ever been to the judges’ scorecards twice – first against Brad Tavares in 2022, and then in his title-winning victory over Strickland at UFC 297.
“In my whole career, I’ve only went the distance twice and both of them were incredible fights,” Du Plessis stated when he joined local radio station ‘Triple M’ to preview his world championship show-down under.
“I don’t mind the distance if it’s an entertaining fight, I’ve never had a boring fight in my life.
“I don’t think that I have the ability [to be in a boring fight] because you need to be able to go at a certain pace and I only know one pace… This time, you know, that’ll teach me not to go to a decision.
“Not that it was for lack of trying but this time, I’m just a bit sharper – a year’s passed since that fight and I believe that in terms of how I’ve grown as a fighter, the development, this sport moves so fast and [I just keep] getting better, getting better day in day out.”
The South African is preparing to rematch Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 312 this coming weekend and as the defending champion, he knows that there’s a significant target on his back.
Yet being a UFC champion also means that Du Plessis enters Fight Week knowing that victory, especially a viral knockout as he’s predicting, could pay dividends to the next generation of fighters from his homeland.
“You have a much bigger responsibility when you’re the champion because my whole gym [and] my whole team right now, they look at me as the benchmark, as the world champion, and that’s what everybody is aspiring to be.
“You need to set an example as to why I’m world champion and you’re not; so, if you’re a young guy training with me, I have to prove to them why I’m world champion and what it takes to be one… Not in an arrogant way at all, but in a motivating and inspiring way.”
Dricus Du Plessis has lofty, lofty goals for the rest of his UFC career
Dricus Du Plessis followed up his title victory over Sean Strickland with an outstanding fourth-round submission win over Israel Adesanya – and if you thought that was impressive, just wait and see what he has planned for 2025.
Speaking to ESPN MMA, ‘Stillknocks’ would state that there’s much more to come from his UFC tenure and that he’s still “quite a bit away from actually dominating the division to a place where there is no competition left.
“I also want to go up and get another belt,” he teased.
“And ultimately, I want to be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this Earth – that is my ultimate goal and that is what keeps me going no matter what you achieve.
“That is a legacy that you build on throughout your whole career so that is my motivation and that’s what I’m chasing, I can’t wait for what 2025 holds.”
Those plans are dependent on getting his hand raised in Australia this coming weekend.
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland 2 goes down on Saturday, February 8.