Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight rivals Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis will clash TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) at UFC 297 inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
“Mr. Apex” did the impossible, unexpectedly scoring a title shot and surprising the fighting world by dethroning Israel Adesanya in fairly dominant fashion. It’s the type of win that creates more questions than answers about Adesanya’s current capabilities and Strickland’s overall potential as champion, but this first title defense should be illuminating. As for Du Plessis, he’s repeatedly baffled many viewers with his blitz-based offense. Can the results be questioned though? He hasn’t lost since 2018, and “Stillknocks” has carved a bloody path through his Middleweight opposition en route to the top of the division.
Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:
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Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images
Sean Strickland
Record: 28-5
Key Wins: Israel Adesanya (UFC 293), Jack Hermansson (UFC Vegas 47), Nassourdine Imavov (UFC Vegas 67), Uriah Hall (UFC Vegas 33), Brendan Allen (UFC Vegas 14), Krzysztof Jotko (UFC Vegas 25), Abus Magomedov (UFC Vegas 76)
Key Losses: Alex Pereira (UFC 276), Jared Cannonier (UFC Vegas 66), Kamaru Usman (UFC 210), Elizeu Zalaeski dos Santos (UFC 224)
Keys to Victory: Strickland is very consistent in his approach to fight. Working behind a jab and slick parries, Strickland pressures his opponent throughout the fight and slowly breaks them down.
He certainly has some advantages here that could make that style work. Strickland is the far better straight puncher, and his overall ability to build combinations in the pocket is superior. If he can get inside Du Plessis’ wide swings, his shots should score with a lot of impact.
He’ll have to navigate Du Plessis’ high guard, however. Straight punches to the body would be a simple workaround, but … Strickland is allergic to body punching for some unknowable reason. A fortunate workaround is Strickland’s stabbing teep kick, which worked wonders against Israel Adesanya and should be doubled down upon here. Since Du Plessis is shifting so often, his stance squares up, and a well-timed teep can really off-balance him and dig into the gas tank.
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Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dricus Du Plessis
Record: 19-2
Key Wins: Robert Whittaker (UFC 290), Derek Brunson (UFC 285), Darren Till (UFC 282), Roberto Soldic (KSW 43), Brad Tavares (UFC 276), Trevin Giles (UFC 264), Markus Perez (UFC Fight Island 5)
Key Losses: Roberto Soldic (KSW 45)
Keys to Victory: How can a fighter who appears to always be fatigued have the highest work rate in 185-pound history? That’s simply the magic of DDP! He’s an absurdly powerful athlete capable of ridiculous output, and very few opponents can stand up to his barrage.
In a boxing match, Strickland picks apart Du Plessis. In pure kickboxing, wrestling, or jiu-jitsu, however, I tend to favor the South African. Subsequently, the overall goal here is to mix it up and overwhelm Strickland with different types of offense.
For the second time in five small paragraphs, I’m going to beg for body work. Strickland’s parrying guard keeps his chin safe much of the time, so rip his liver with a big hook! Du Plessis’ kicks can do major attritional damage as well. Strickland may have suddenly started defending kicks well against Adesanya, but Du Plessis is going to be giving him many more weapons to think about, so he’ll likely find better success in chopping the leg or punting the mid-section.
Takedowns should be part of the plan as well. It only takes a brief moment of top control for Du Plessis to really savage his opponent, and he’s a definite finishing threat with his strangles as well.
Strickland’s defense is a notable attribute, but Du Plessis should be testing whether he can handle an onslaught of kicks, big swings, and takedowns all at once.
Bottom Line
The Middleweight belt is back on the line! It’s also the first 185-pound title fight without Israel Adesanya since UFC 225 in June 2018.
Strickland can really solidify his title reign here. A lot of fans and analysts alike believed there was something off about Adesanya in their bout, so despite scoring the biggest upset of the year, he’s still seen as one of the more vulnerable champions. Ending Du Plessis’ win streak should alter that perception, because that’s another very legitimate name for his resume.
Du Plessis finds himself in a similar position having just shocked the fighting world by demolishing Robert Whittaker — nobody expected that either! “Stillknocks” has already proven that there’s something special about his berserker style, but like Jiri Prochazka before him, he has to prove that it will work at the championship level.
Whichever man leaves the cage with gold, “Stylebender” is likely waiting.
At UFC 297, Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis will battle for Middleweight gold. Which man earns the victory?