Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, coming off a win over Israel Adesanya, entered UFC 312 looking to put another rivalry to bed: one against Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis had dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 last January, but the fight had ended in a split decision, and Strickland certainly had his share of fans who believed he’d won the bout. With that in mind, running the fight back just made sense for the UFC, not to mention (dollars and) cents, given how heated their first meeting had become.
The trash talk ahead of the UFC 312 had not come close to the vitriol spewed ahead of their first meeting, mind you. Instead, talk seemed to center on actual fighting, a rather unique concept given the oversized personalities involved. And that was a question that could easily be answered in five rounds or less on Saturday.
As it turned out, it did take five rounds, the second time this pair had gone the distance.
Early on, it was Strickland using his familiar Philly shell, and champ Du Plessis firing kicks low and to the body. Strickland checked the low calf kicks, and worked his jab. This sequence repeated several times – Du Plessis kicking, Strickland firing his jab. The South African champ then added a little flavor, firing a spinning kick to the body. More jabs from Strickland, more kicks from Du Plessis, with one just sailing wide past the side of Strickland’s head. A measured round, not low action, but no major damage done by either man.
Round two saw an oblique kick by Du Plessis, and this time, Strickland fired back with a kick of his own. And when they came together just past a minute in, the challenger connected with an overhand right to the side of the head, his best strike to that point. The round continued, like the first, to be a back-and-forth battle, mainly single strikes, jabs and kicks, with the occasional combo in the mix. Notably, Strickland’s mouth had been bloodied by the end of 10 minutes.
The third round opened with Strickland nearly catching a kick to the body that landed awkwardly to the side. Du Plessis then punched his way in; he’d do that once or twice more, than it was Strickland pushing with a combo. The lack of action overall, however, soon had the fans restless. Strickland landed a right hand at the midway mark of round three; Du Plessis got the fans back in things by ripping off a hard spinning back fist. Strickland got his hands going again with just over a minute remaining, but Du Plessis landed an elbow in response. Du Plessis finished the frame with a takedown attempt, but couldn’t land it. After three close rounds, it was anyone’s fight, but the champ likely had a slight edge, and Sean Strickland was going to need to get busy.
Champ Du Plessis showed a stance switch and continued to target the body in the opening moments of round four. He punched his way inside, forcing Strickland back, and moments later, a right landed for the champ! Strickland was hurt, his nose possibly broken. Dricus Du Plessis saw it, the blood gushing out of it making it clear as day. Blood in the water, Du Plessis went on the attack, and Strickland was forced to retreat. Strickland did well enough to stay out of harm’s way for a few minutes, and Du Plessis showed some restraint rather than emptying the tank attempting to finish. Du Plessis spammed a few overhand rights at the end of the round, but couldn’t get Strickland out of there, broken nose or not.
Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick was blunt with Sean Strickland between rounds, telling him he needed a finish to win. “Take chances, take risks,” Nicksick implored. Of course, easier said than done with a busted nose. Still, Strickland stood toe-to-toe with the champ to start round five, popping out his jab. Du Plessis, win pretty much in the bag, continued with the same plan that had worked: target the body, fire kicks, and occasionally punch inside, looking to land the right hand. The finish wasn’t there for a bloodied Sean Strickland, nor could Dricus Du Plessis put the challenger away, but there was zero question as to who had won the fight this time around, even if the judges still came into play.
“Is there no one else? Is there no one else?!?” hollered Du Plessis following the win, quoting Achilles in the movie Troy. That might have been directed to Alex Pereira, who cornered Strickland, though it’s more likely that Khamzat Chimaev is next for the champ.
Official Result: Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
