Looking back at first Du Plessis vs. Strickland bout before UFC 312 rematch

The first meeting between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ended up being one of the closest five-round matchups in the UFC in all of 2024.

The back-and-forth contest that headlined UFC 297 had 323 combined strikes, each competitor earned a Fight of the Night bonus for their efforts, and Du Plessis became the new 185-pound champion by winning the belt Strickland had earned just four months prior thanks to a somewhat disputed outcome.

Du Plessis and Strickland had been involved in a physical altercation in the stands while attending UFC 296 the month prior, plus there was plenty of verbal vitriol unleashed in both directions in the weeks leading up to their title clash.

Suffice it to say, before the fight there was bad blood. After the 25-minute bout had concluded both middleweights had literal blood running down their faces.

One year later we find ourselves counting down the days until their anticipated rematch that headlines Saturday’s UFC 312 card in Sydney, Australia.

Will part two be as tightly contested as part one? Will the judges even be required this time around? What can we learn from the first fight that can be applied to the sequel?

Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane.

ROUND 1: The crowd was behind Strickland early like they had been that entire frigid week in Toronto. Fans at Scotiabank Arena chanted “Let’s go Strickland!” as the defending champion poked and prodded his opponent with frequent kicks and jabs. Strickland was effective with his unusual forward-moving, defence-first style and checked any outside leg kicks Du Plessis was throwing.

Du Plessis was throwing the harder strikes, coming close on several high left kicks, and he registered two takedowns late in the round yet Strickland limited DDP’s control time to just 28 seconds, better than doubling him in total strikes (39-19 total strikes, 34-18 significant strikes) while landing at a higher percentage. A solid opening five minutes for Strickland who prevented Du Plessis from landing damaging shots while reddening the beak of DDP with many stiff jabs.

Consensus/scoring: A clear Strickland round that set the stage for the exact type of competitive fight that transpired. All three judges score the round 10-9 for Strickland.

ROUND 2: Du Plessis was not dissuaded by the opening five minutes and pursued Strickland aggressively in the second, landing a spinning backfist in the opening minute and having increased success with leg and body attacks. Du Plessis would shift back and forth from orthodox to southpaw to find openings and angles from which to attack Strickland, who persisted with mostly head strikes. Du Plessis was successful on his lone takedown attempt of the round. This was the lone round in the fight in which Du Plessis landed more significant strikes than Stickland (26-22).

Consensus/scoring: Another competitive round but one that all three judges scored 10-9 for Du Plessis.

ROUND 3: If Strickland can be the fighter moving forward and dictating the pace then he can eventually wear down nearly any middleweight, so Du Plessis made sure he was putting Strickland on his back foot as often as possible and the American’s pacing slowed down slightly in the third frame. Strickland fought behind his jab for most of the five minutes. This was the only round in which Du Plessis did not shoot a takedown.

Strickland landed 31 of 87 significant strike attempts in the round with all but two landing to the head, compared to 29 of 84 for Du Plessis who connected on the harder shots overall while spreading out his attack across head, body and legs. The first words from Strickland’s head coach Eric Nicksick in the corner after Round 3 were: “Hey, I don’t like that round, you know what I mean?” Nicksick wanted Strickland to pick up his pace and get back to incorporating the teep kick he had success with earlier in the tilt.

Consensus/scoring: This was the closest and ultimately the most pivotal round of the contest. Sal D’Amato was the one judge to see the round 10-9 for Strickland; judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon gave the middle round 10-9 to Du Plessis.

ROUND 4: Du Plessis had never previously entered a fourth round of competition during his MMA career. At the time there were some cardio question marks surrounding the South African based on the fact he would often breathe heavily and through his mouth during his fights, however DDP’s pace was just as consistent and up-tempo as Strickland’s throughout.

An overhand right from Du Plessis opened a small cut near Strickland’s left eye. Midway through the round Strickland clinched up with Du Plessis in the centre of the cage but Du Plessis landed a nifty trip takedown. Du Plessis began finding a home for his right hand as blood began trickling into Strickland’s eye and impeding Strickland’s vision. The second half of the round saw the challenger get two additional takedowns and accumulate 1:18 of total control time.

Consensus/scoring: All three judges scored the round 10-9 Du Plessis. With Du Plessis up three rounds to one on two of the scorecards, Strickland would need a finish or to secure a 10-8 round in order to retain the title.

ROUND 5: The final round ended up as the busiest for both fighters with Strickland outlanding Du Plessis 53-35, shrugging off both of DDP’s takedown attempts, and finishing the fight as the one pressing forward with momentum.

Consensus/scoring: All three judges score the round 10-9 Strickland but it was too little too late and a 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 split decision was rendered.

UFC president Dana White said immediately following UFC 297 he thought the fight was tied two rounds apiece heading into the final round and agreed that Strickland did more in the final five minutes. White also complimented Strickland’s use of the jab. Du Plessis disagreed with the boss’s scorecard but couldn’t argue with that point as his face was marked up and swollen at the post-fight press conference.

“He has a super, super strong jab,” Du Plessis said. “Every time he hits you with his jab, it feels like someone is hitting you with a rock.”

Despite how close the fight was the UFC declined to set up an immediate rematch and each fighter has only fought once since the UFC 297 main event.

Strickland, 33, got back in the win column with a five-round victory over Paulo Costa less than six months later at UFC 301 in June to maintain his position as the No. 1 contender.

Du Plessis, 30, cemented his status as champion with a submission win over Israel Adesanya in Perth in August for his first title defence.

Both fighters have won a title fight against the former longtime champion Adesanya who recently gave his brief thoughts on the rematch.

“I think (Du Plessis is) gonna take it again,” Adesanya told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter prior to his recent loss to Nassourdine Imavov. “He’s just stubborn. He’s stubborn, he’s strong-willed, so you have to be able to break his will to beat him.”

Strickland could not break Du Plessis’s will in Toronto the way he broke Adesanya’s at UFC 293 in Sydney in the exact same venue UFC 312 takes place.

The brash American was at his most effective against Du Plessis whenever he was the one moving forward and whenever he would let his right hand fly. It’s also the punch that helped turn the tables and nearly end his title fight with Adesanya.

That type of massive momentum shift isn’t something he could generate against Du Plessis. Strickland has continued working with current 205-pound champion Alex Pereira who’ll be in Strickland’s corner in Australia as was the scenario in Toronto.

Du Plessis, meanwhile, has said in the lead-up to the rematch he feels he’s a better version of the fighter who became champ. Full stop.

“Mentally, I’m feeling amazing, feeling as always just ready to go,” Du Plessis told Main Event after arriving in Australia. “My body going into this fight, there’s no injuries. I feel the best I’ve ever felt in terms of fitness. … We test these things and I’m the best I’ve ever been.”

He acknowledged he was slightly apprehensive ahead of UFC 297 because it was his first five-round main event in the UFC, but after winning a high-output five-rounder against Strickland then his subsequent fourth-round submission win over Adesanya, the champ has an entirely new level of confidence.

“I finished one of the greatest in Israel Adesanya and now I’m going to finish Sean Strickland,” Du Plessis added. “Put that whole argument to bed with that judges’ decision.”

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