Challenging for middleweight gold for the first time inside the Octagon, South African contender, Dricus du Plessis has opened as a decent betting favorite to beat Sean Strickland in their championship clash at UFC 297 on January 20. in Toronto, Canada.
Strickland, the current undisputed middleweight champion, most recently headlined UFC 293 back in September in Sydney, Australia, turning in a shocking unanimous decision win over two-time champion, Israel Adesanya – securing one of the biggest upset wins in the history of the promotion.
As for Dricus du Plessis, the surging number two ranked contender, earned his first crack at middleweight gold back in July, landing a stunning second round TKO win over Robert Whittaker, becoming the sole fighter other than the above-mentioned, Adesanya to defeat the former titleholder since his middleweight debut back in 2014.
Dricus du Plessis opens as favorite to beat Sean Strickland at UFC 297
And off the back of an impressive start to his run with the UFC, Dricus du Plessis who has landed six consecutive wins since his Octagon, has opened as a -140 betting favorite to beat Strickland at UFC 297 in January – with the defending champion a +115 betting underdog.
Many markets are offering bets on Strickland’s first title defense at the end of the year against Pretoria native, du Plessis – and sites, who also offer punters the chance to play live roulette, are taking action on the undisputed middleweight championship fight.
En route to his championship victory over Adesanya, the hugely-outspoken Strickland had landed consecutive wins over both Nassourdine Imavov, and Absupiyan Magomedov – which saw him snap a run of two consecutive losses to Jared Cannonier, and former champion, Alex Pereira – the latter of which via thunderous opening round KO.
However, returning to the middleweight limit back in 2020, Strickland has also landed other notable wins over the likes of Uriah Hall, Brendan Allen, and Jack Hermansson.
A former KSW and EFC championship holder, Dricus du Plessis, who holds a stoppage win over the highly-considered Croat striker, Roberto Soldic prior to his tenure in the UFC, hit the ground running in spectacular fashion back in 2020 with a knockout win over Markus Perez.
In four real notable wins since, du Plessis has defeated Brad Tavares, former title challenger, Darren Till and perennial contender, Derek Brunson with stoppage triumphs, before landing a career-highlight knockout over former champion, Whittaker.
Also featuring on January’s UFC 297 card in ‘The Great White North’, the organization is set to crown a bantamweight titleholder for the first time since Amanda Nunes’ retirement back in June, as contenders, Raquel Pennington, and Mayra Bueno Silva meet in a vacant title fight – taking co-main event honors.
Last time out, Pennington landed a split decision win over Ketlen Vieira, whilst a banned substance violation saw Bueno Silva’s impressive ninja choke submission win over former champion, Holly Holm overturned to an official ‘No Contest’.
UFC 287 will also come as du Plessis first main event fight since he landed in the Dana White-led promotion, whether that be in ‘Fight Night’ billed cards or atop a flagship event.
Who wins at UFC 297 in January: Sean Strickland or Dricus du Plessis?