The middleweight duo went toe-to-toe at UFC 297 in a Fight of the Night contest.
In the main event of UFC 312, Dricus du Plessis will look to defend the middleweight title in a rematch with the former champion, Sean Strickland.
They first met in January of last year at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where a new 185-pound titleholder was crowned.
Du Plessis earned the middleweight title shot after stopping Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 but he was unable to make the quick turnaround in order to challenge Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September of 2023.
Strickland went on to take his place and produce one of the biggest upsets in recent years, winning a one-sided fight against the champion to set up a meeting with the South African in the coming months.
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Dricus du Plessis beat Sean Strickland to take his UFC title
The middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland at UFC 297 was hard to call for many fight fans heading into the event and the bout itself reflected that.
Du Plessis had won six consecutive fights inside the Octagon with five finishes and many expected his aggressive style to dominate the bout early on with the more conservative approach of his opponent giving him an advantage in the championship rounds.
The challenger and his team anticipated this and as a result, ‘Stillknocks’ was far more reserved in the opening round than usual but after losing the first five minutes on all three scorecards, he upped the pace in the second.
Du Plessis, in the eyes of the two judges that scored the fight in his favor, went on to win the next three rounds largely down to his output with the South African consistently throwing big, eye-catching strikes without ever getting discouraged when he failed to land on his opponent.
Despite the champion rallying in the fifth to win the round, which du Plessis disagrees with, the three rounds banked by the challenger in the middle of the fight saw him win the contest via a split decision.
Strickland was adamant that he won in the immediate aftermath of the fight, signaling that this wouldn’t be the final chapter between them.
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Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland went separate ways before meeting at UFC 312
Both men have gone on to produce one win inside the Octagon since their closely contested bout at UFC 297.
First, Sean Strickland returned to the win column by beating Paulo Costa at UFC 302 via another split decision, and in his mind, this secured his spot as the next challenger.
The UFC had other plans as Dricus du Plessis welcomed the former two-time champion Israel Adesanya back to the division, submitting him in the fourth round at UFC 305 meaning that he has now beaten the last three men to hold the 185-pound gold.
At UFC 312 on February 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, they run it back in a pivotal moment for both men’s careers as we wait to see whether it’s revenge or repeat on Saturday night.