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Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis: UFC 297
Sean Strickland will defend his UFC Middleweight Champion against Dricus Du Plessis on Saturday in Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Sean Strickland Profile
Sean Strickland is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and will make his first defense of his title. Strickland made a huge upset over Israel Adesanya in September to win the title in a fight that only occurred since Du Plessis was unable to face Adesanya when offered. Currently, Strickland is #8 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings. The 32-year-old from Anaheim has 28 wins and 5 losses in his UFC career. 13 of those wins came on decisions, 11 after knockouts, and 4 by submissions. He was knocked out twice, and three of his losses came on the decision.
Dricus Du Plessis Profile
Dricus Du Plessis made a name for himself after defeating Robert Whittaker in his most recent outing. He has been with the UFC since 2020 after competing in the Middleweight division of Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). The South African has 20 wins and 2 losses so far in his career. Ten of his wins came after submissions, 9 with knockouts, and one with a decision. One of his losses was a knockout and the other by submission.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both fighters have made a huge leap in the last year after beating some of the best in the sport. Strickland stunned Adesanya in his last fight to win the championship, but many would agree that it was the worst fight of Adesanya’s career while Strickland had a perfect fight. We don’t want to take anything away from Strickland, but Du Plessis will be a much bigger challenge. The South African is a very aggressive fighter, sometimes even going wild. Strickland definitely knows how to defend, but Du Plessis will take over the fight as it progresses and win this one by decision.
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