UFC 312 Rewind! How ‘DDP’ Toppled Strickland One Year Ago | UFC Betting Sites

It’s been less than 13 months since Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland fought the first time.

Back in Jan. 2024, Strickland was riding high after dethroning Israel Adesanya a few months prior. He came into his first title defense as a small favorite, but ultimately left the Octagon without a belt after a 25-minute war that earned “Fight of the Night” honors. It was a controversial outcome (see scorecards here), with fans and media fairly split on who deserved the nod. Since then, “DDP” submitted the aforementioned Adesanya to retain his belt (watch it), while Strickland jabbed past Paulo Costa to score another title shot instead of surging killer, Khamzat Chimaev.

It would have been super fun.

Prior to their upcoming UFC 312 main event rematch this weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, let’s take a closer look back at that first bout. I’ll offer up my scorecard, but more important, try to review what worked (or didn’t work) for each man in their UFC 297 clash, which you can watch below in its entirety as you follow along with the analysis.

Round One

The first 2.5 minutes was nearly perfect work for the then-champion — Strickland would have loved for all 25 minutes to continue in similar fashion! Right away, Strickland was able to establish the lead hand threat, alternating behind the jab and left hook to sneak shots through his opponent’s defenses. Notably, his front kick landed really well too, meaning two linear shots were keeping du Plessis away from the pocket and away from his takedowns.

This round is an example of Strickland at his best. Not only was he landing those straight shots, but he occasionally built off them by tying in low kicks or following with the right hook. Within just a couple minutes, Strickland’s jab had split open du Plessis’ nose and caused some facial swelling. In addition, he checked a large majority of du Plessis’ low kicks, showing his evolution from a year prior when Jared Cannonier really gave him problems with calf kicks.

du Plessis was not completely without success, however. He landed a nice left switch kick to the liver about midway through the round. A moment later, he went upstairs with a left high kick that partially landed. Those kicks inspired him a bit, prompting more volume and his first successful takedown of the fight … though Strickland popped up quickly.

Still, du Plessis’ game works because of the varied elements of attack. When Strickland return to space, the South African landed his first punches to the head via the Southpaw jab. He also started timing the low kick more successfully, finding his own flow despite continuing to eat jabs.

10-9 Strickland

Round Two

Both men had demonstrated their game plans in the first, but du Plessis made a nice adjustment early in the second by utilizing the double threat right low kick/right overhand combination. The overhand was still missing entirely or glancing off the shoulder, but throwing it helped him set up his calf kick as Strickland circled into that direction. Since Strickland was still checking well, “DDP” also adjusted by throwing right kicks to the body — unconventional against a fellow Orthodox fighter — or touching the kick then immediately firing two punches, trying to catch Strickland on one leg.

Strickland remained entirely committed to the jab, and he landed some sharp ones in the opening couple minutes. Generally, Strickland did really nice work in managing his distance and pivoting, preventing himself from getting corralled along the fence. That said, I’m not sure his approach changed all that much from the first round, and his teep kick was more infrequent.

Meanwhile, du Plessis’ swings were starting to land a little more often. The three most notable head shots of the round likely go to the South African: an overhand, a spinning backfist, and a roll into a left hook. The final shot cut Strickland, which proved an important element in the fight as a whole. du Plessis closed the competitive round with a takedown, though again, Strickland proved difficult to control.

How much does a good handful of crisp jabs weigh against more variety and overall output? That’s the question of the round and ultimately the fight.

10-9 du Plessis

Round Three

Round three was the closest of the fight.

Once again, the notable changes in approach came from du Plessis. The entire five minutes took place a half-step closer than the previous two rounds. “DDP” didn’t have to charge forward so wildly … okay he still did sometimes, but he didn’t have to! Strickland did a better job defending the overhand with his shoulder, so du Plessis started firing the overhand from Southpaw and pairing it with the left liver kick.

Generally, there weren’t too many serious connections from either man. Strickland’s jab was the single best weapon of the round (and the fight), but that was almost all he through. He rarely doubled it up, followed with the right hand, or attacked with any other counter shots. Conversely, a lot of du Plessis’ offense was blocked outright.

du Plessis turned it up in the final 45 seconds though. He landed a glancing pair of hooks, a heavy low kick counter, and a feinted takedown into a shoveling punch. In a round where neither man was particularly successful, that strong close and the general optics of his aggression convinced the judges.

And me.

10-9 du Plessis

Round Four

du Plessis began the fourth with urgency and some body punches. A moment later, a glancing right hand split open Strickland’s other eye and had him bleeding freely. Strickland finally adjusted too, however, sitting down with his right hand as a counter more often … and it worked quite well!

The “DDP” response was to blast more kicks, which landed heavily because of the closer range and at a better rate as the Strickland defensive reactions slowed from blood/fatigue. There was a big sequence two minutes into the round where du Plessis clubbed Strickland with a left, prompting a reactive shot from the boxer, which du Plessis immediately reversed with a trip takedown of his own.

Strickland’s arms looked loaded with blood after fighting his way back to standing, and he was promptly cracked by a 1-2 then a 1-1-2. His face was now covered in blood. A head kick from the “Stillknocks”, then another takedown. The South African snowball was fulling rolling, and Strickland looked frustrated even if he found one last right hand before the bell.

10-9 du Plessis

Round Five

Credit to Strickland, he woke back up and answered the call in round five. From the bell, he was less willing to concede ground, standing stronger behind the double jab and his counter right hand. du Plessis, happy to have a less mobile Strickland in front of him, was content to trade, and both men were landing good shots.

Because he wasn’t moving/leaning backward, Strickland defended the takedowns well in the fifth. He was able to turn a corner with his hips and negate a lot of du Plessis’ explosive drive by changing the angle. du Plessis responded by firing punches on the break and off level change feints.

Generally, Strickland landed the cleaner punches in the fifth. A lot of his wild right hook counters glanced off the shoulder or high guard of du Plessis, but they still managed to knock him off-balance a bit. It was a competitive round, but Strickland rallied well after getting beaten up in the fourth.

10-9 Strickland

Conclusion

The first decision hinged on a couple of very close rounds that ultimately went du Plessis’ way. My scorecard backs up the current kingpin, who was able to outwork Strickland through volume and variety.

What’s interesting ahead of the rematch is that du Plessis made far more mid-fight adjustments than Strickland, whose coaches spent about four rounds convincing him to finally throw his right hand more often. “DDP,” conversely, switched up his attacks constantly and find little openings throughout the 25 minute fight. The question is whether Strickland can enter this rematch with a more elastic mindset and adjust to the chaos du Plessis brings to the table, because his inability to do so really cost him in the first match.

We’ll found out, once again, “Down Under” this Saturday.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 312 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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