UFC 297: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis continues on the main card with the main event fight for the UFC Middleweight championship between the champion Sean Strickland and the challenger Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland did the unthinkable by dethroning the middleweight champ Israel Adesanya to become the undisputed middleweight champion his last time out meanwhile, Du Plessis did one better in knocking out former champion and longtime contender Robert Whittaker for his shot at the title in his last fight. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Strickland-Du Plessis prediction and pick.
Sean Strickland (28-11) went from losing two straight fights to former champion Alex Pereira by knockout and Jared Cannonier by split decision to fighting for the title after two straight wins. He was able to make the most of his short-notice title shot in hostile territory dominating the former champion Adesanya for the entirety of the fight. Strickland will look to defend his new championship for the first time when he takes on the surging South African Dricus Du Plessis.
Dricus Du Plessis (20-2) made his presence known in his UFC debut when he knocked out Markus Perez in the first round. Since that debut victory, Du Plessis rattled off five straight wins with each of his last three wins coming inside the distance most recently knocking out Robert Whittaker. Du Plessis is looking to do one better and that is to be crowned the first-ever South African UFC Champion when he takes on Sean Strickland this weekend at UFC 297.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of DraftKings.
UFC 297 Odds: Sean Strickland-Dricus Du Plessis Odds
Sean Strickland: -135
Dricus Du Plessis: +114
Over 2.5 rounds: -115
Under 2.5 rounds: -115
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Why Sean Strickland Will Win
Many couldn't believe the performance that Sean Strickland put on when he took a fight on short notice in hostile territory in Australia to dethrone the former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Strickland was able to not let Adesanya get any rhythm going in his game and just stifle any type of offense with just nonstop in-your-face pressure which is arguably one of the best in the UFC at doing so.
Strickland will be looking to defend his new shiny UFC Middleweight Championship belt for the first time when he takes on the surging South African Dricus Du Plessis. Du Plessis is a different problem to solve than that of Adesanya as he has this awkward striking style plus he can mix in the grappling something Adesanya doesn't possess. However, the one thing that can compensate for this is constantly pressing and keeping Du Plessis on his backfoot which is exactly what Strickland will come out there to do. As long as Strickland can keep this fight on the feet and constantly move forward without getting clipped he can retain his middleweight title.
Why Dricus Du Plessis Will Win
Dricus Du Plessis was one of the top middleweight prospects before he came into his UFC debut. He made a big splash in the division with a first-round knockout in his debut fight and then subsequently went on a six-fight unbeaten streak in the biggest promotion. He has finished five of his six opponents in the UFC most recently doing the unthinkable, knocking out former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
Now, Du Plessis gets his first crack at UFC gold when he steps in there Saturday night in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to take on the newly crowned champion Sean Strickland. He knows what he is getting from Strickland and that is nonstop forward pressure which will make it a bit easier as Strickland will be there to be hit. Du Plessis won't have to go searching for Strickland to land his strikes as much as if he were fighting someone like Whittaker or Adesanya. It boils down to whether or not Du Plessis can deal with the pressure and land his heavy strikes along with mixing in his grappling like we've seen in his past fights. If he can do that we could see another new champion at the top of the middleweight division.
Final Sean Strickland-Dricus Du Plessis Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic main event for the first PPV of the new year. These two have had their fair share of bad blood even getting into it at UFC 296 in the crowd and that should spill over into this matchup here this weekend at UFC 297. Expect this fight to be somewhat of a car crash in the middle of the octagon as these two just come to throw down for our excitement. Ultimately, while Strickland has the upper hand in cardio, output, and certainly the experience against elite-level competition this fight just feels like it's Du Plessis' to show that he's the best middleweight fighter in the UFC as he finishes Strickland inside two rounds to be crowned the NEW UFC Middleweight Champion.
Final Sean Strickland-Dricus Du Plessis Prediction & Pick: Dricus Du Plessis (+114), Under 2.5 Rounds (-115)
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