At UFC 297, which will take place in January, Dricus du Plessis is scheduled to compete against Sean Strickland for the middleweight championship.
At UFC 290, du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker via technical knockout, while at UFC 293, ‘Tarzan’ defeated Israel Adesanya via decision. Both of these guys will enter the fight on the heels of remarkable victories that put them in a position to surprise their opponents.
Both ‘Stillknocks’ and Strickland were present at the UFC 296 event that took place over the past weekend. Daniel Cormier, who was a member of the commentary crew for the pay-per-view event, has disclosed that he had conversations with the South African’s team while he was present at the event.
Based on the information provided by Cormier, the camp of Dricus du Plessis is filled to the brim with optimism in preparation for his title bout against Sean Strickland. As part of a recent video uploaded to YouTube, “DC” revealed the following information regarding his conversation with the camp representing the middleweight contender:
Those who are close to du Plessis believe that it is an afterthought that he obtains through Sean Strickland, according to what I have heard from them. They are of the opinion that he is so far ahead of Sean Strickland that it will not be challenging to compete with him. I am at a loss to comprehend how you could possibly watch the most recent fight [against Adesanya] and feel that way.
Take a look at the comments made by Daniel Cormier below (6:05):
As a result of the incident that took place between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis in the audience at UFC 296, the level of anticipation for their fight has reached an all-time high. Fortunately, neither guy nor anyone else sustained any injuries during the altercation, and everything is going to proceed according to plan for their championship bout.
Dricus du Plessis reflects on his brawl with Sean Strickland at UFC 296
In light of the fact that UFC 296 is the last event on the promotion’s calendar for the year 2023, a press conference for the 2024 season was conducted during the previous week on Friday. Fighters that were scheduled to compete in the main event of UFC 297, UFC 298 and UFC 299, the first three pay-per-view events of the following year, were present at the event.
The match was partially stolen by Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. ‘Stillknocks’ poked fun at his opponent by bringing up Strickland’s childhood trauma, which caused ‘Tarzan’ to get more enraged than viewers had previously witnessed.
The couple sat two rows apart from each other at UFC 296 the next day, which was the day after the fight. In light of the tension that was already present, a passing conversation between them resulted in a full-blown brawl in the crowd.
This is what Dricus du Plessis had to say in an interview with ESPN Mixed Martial Arts following the incident:
Despite the fact that it is not a really good example, here we are. The events transpired, but nobody was wounded. Everything is in order… It makes no difference to me if he will be activated. Now there’s one thing that’s a soft place for him, and now we’re not allowed to say it? He goes and he says anything he wants, and now there’s one thing that becomes a soft spot for him.
