Sean Strickland expecting another “five-round war” against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312

Sean Strickland is expecting another war against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.

Strickland is set to rematch Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 312 on Saturday in Australia. They first fought in January of 2024 when Strickland was the champ, but it was Du Plessis who won a split decision in a very close fight that could have gone either way.

Ahead of the rematch, Sean Strickland is confident in his skills and knows what he needs to do to get the win. But, he does realize Dricus Du Plessis is hard to put away so he’s expecting another five-round war.

“Here’s the thing. (He has) a hard f*****g head, I’ve been training my ass off. I’m ready to put your ass down, or I’m ready for a five-round war. Let’s get it f*****g, done,” Strickland said to FOX Sports Australia.

The first fight between Strickland and Du Plessis was an instant classic. So, if the rematch comes close to that, fans will be in for a treat on Saturday night.

Dricus Du Plessis sends vicious message to Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 312

Heading into UFC 312, Dricus Du Plessis is also expecting a war against Sean Strickland.

Yet, ahead of the fight, Du Plessis sent a warning to Strickland, explaining why he is the champ and at the top 185lbs fighter in the world today:

“When I go in there, if there’s no ref – the ref doesn’t stop it, I’m not stopping,” Du Plessis said on Straight Talk. “I can be sitting on you for ten minutes bashing your face in. If the ref doesn’t say ‘Stop,’ I’m not stopping. And that is the question that me, as a modern-day gladiator has to ask myself. ‘Am still willing to die?’ Absolutely, that’s easy. It’s ‘Are you willing to kill a man in front of his family?’ Yes, I am. And that’s why I’m the world champion, because I say ‘Yes’ to that question every single time.”

Dricus Du Plessis enters the UFC 312 main event as a -218 favorite, while Sean Strickland is a +180 underdog.