PREVIEW: Dricus du Plessis v Sean Strickland UFC title bout

PREVIEW: Dricus du Plessis v Sean Strickland UFC title bout

South African superstar Dricus du Plessis will look to claim Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight gold when he faces Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 297, set for the Scotiabank Arena in Ontario, Canada. The clash will take place after 5am on Sunday morning (SA time).

VIDEO | Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland in tense weigh-in face-off – WATCH

In setting up this clash, Du Plessis’ UFC 290 win over Robert Whittaker registered as one of the biggest upsets of 2023. Despite having won each of his first five UFC appearances and seven straight overall heading into the fight, most expected “Stillknocks” to suffer the same fate as everyone else that had tried to leapfrog the former champion on their way to a championship opportunity, but instead, Du Plessis overwhelmed Whittaker, finishing him in the second round to cement his No. 1 contender status.

Things have gotten heated between Du Plessis and Strickland, spilling over into a dust-up at UFC 296 last month in Las Vegas, and it will be interesting to see how much of that carries over into the Octagon this weekend. Stylistically, it’s a fascinating pairing, as Du Plessis likes to be the aggressor as much as Strickland, so there should be a quality battle to see who dictates the terms of engagement from the outset.

WATCH: Springboks rally around Dricus du Plessis

Dricus du Plessis stats and facts

• Du Plessis (20-2), meanwhile, is unbeaten in the UFC since his series debut in October 2020
• He has racked up six successive UFC wins to become the top contender in the division
• Du Plessis earned his shot at the UFC middleweight title by defeating Australian Robert Whittaker in a second-round TKO in July
• Du Plessis is aiming to become the first South African mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to hold a title belt at the prestigious UFC level.
• The 29-year-old from Pretoria is on an eight-fight winning streak, with the two other victories outside the UFC having been achieved at EFC Africa in Pretoria and KSW 50 in London
• Du Plessis goes by the nickname ‘Stillknocks.’ The nickname stems from the drug Stilnox, which is another name for the sleeping pill commonly known as Ambien in the United States.
• The middleweight championship will not be the only title on the line at UFC 297, with Raquel Pennington (15-8) and Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 1 NC) battling it out for the vacant women’s bantamweight belt.

WHAT TIME WILL THE BOUT TAKE PLACE?

The fight will headline the card on Saturday, 20 January, with the clash set to get under way around 10pm at the venue. However, due to the seven hour time difference between Canada and South Africa, viewers in Mzansi will only watch the bout after 5am on Sunday, 21 January.

UFC 297 – 21 January

03:00 to 05:00 – Prelims

05:00 to 09:00 – Main Bouts

Channel

SuperSport Variety 4 (209)

UFC 297 – MAIN CARD

– Main event: Middleweight championship: Sean Strickland v Dricus du Plessis

– Co-main: Women’s bantamweight championship: Raquel Pennington v Mayra Bueno Silva

– Welterweight: Neil Magny v Mike Malott

– Middleweight: Chris Curtis v Marc-Andre Barriault

– Featherweight: Arnold Allen v Movsar Evloev