The two men traded words before stepping inside the Octagon with one another for a second time.
Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland are set to meet in a rematch in the main event of UFC 312 this Saturday night at the Qudos Bank Arena.
In the build up to their first meeting at UFC 297 last year, the press conference ended up making headlines after the South African appeared to hit a nerve with his trash talking.
Strickland, who is often the one doing the majority of the talking, seemingly lost their first verbal exchange and come fight night, his middleweight title reign came to an end.
All eyes were on their second press conference heading into February 8 to see which man would prevail on the mic in order to set the tone for fight night in Sydney, Australia.
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis trade insults ahead of UFC 312 rematch
The press conference for UFC 312 didn’t see the same intensity that previously existed between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.
‘Stillknocks’ believes that there is a mutual respect between them now that they have fought each other for 25 minutes but that didn’t stop them from trading a few insults.
For a minute, it appeared that Strickland would land the most memorable blow of the presser, making fun of du Plessis’ awkward fighting style whilst simultaneously praising him for it.
“Let me tell you something about the dutchman, which is a cool nickname by the way, this man fights like a r—– on a short bus and hey, Dricus, I respect you for that because you fight like a f—— maniac! But, I won that fight and I’m gonna win this fight so f—— saddle up and let’s get it done!”
Du Plessis has proven in his championship reign that he is one of the funniest trash talkers on the roster right now.
Rather than trying to emotionally attack Strickland on this occasion, he countered with a slick line about the challenger’s new facial hair that he’s bringing into the rematch.
“Yeah, I fight like somebody on the short bus but you look like the driver… you’re not allowed near kids with that look anymore.”
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Dricus du Plessis knows what he is in for
Despite Dricus du Plessis getting his opponent fired up ahead of their meeting at UFC 297, nothing that was said or happened between them before the fight changed the way that Sean Strickland fought.
With both men now knowing what each other is capable of, there aren’t nearly as many surprises this time around and the respect that exists between them was likely going to lead to a more conserved build up.
Strickland is always going to talk and make bold statements but the defending champion has now seen that it won’t alter his mindset coming into the fight.
Du Plessis knows what to expect from his challenger which allowed him to take his foot off the gas this time around in regards to the verbal exchanges.