Sean Strickland sends expletive-laden challenge to Dricus du Plessis, UFC champion responds

Sean Strickland has proposed a pact to Dricus du Plessis ahead of their UFC 312 title rematch.

Strickland will challenge du Plessis for the UFC Middleweight Championship inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia on February 8th. The two had a highly competitive title bout back in early 2024. Going into that bout, Strickland was the 185-pound titleholder. He dropped the belt to du Plessis via split decision.

Ahead of their second meeting, Strickland is daring du Plessis to keep the fight standing.

RELATED: UFC LEGEND THINKS SEAN STRICKLAND HAS FIRE LIT UNDER HIM GOING INTO UFC 312 REMATCH WITH DRICUS DU PLESSIS: ‘THAT CARE METER WENT THROUGH THE ROOF’

Sean Strickland Wants Dricus du Plessis to Avoid Grappling at UFC 312

In a new clip posted on Full Violence, Sean Strickland suggested that he and Dricus du Plessis agree to ditch grappling for their upcoming rematch.

🚨 Sean Strickland wants to make a stand and bang pact with DDP. No takedowns. No grappling. Just striking.

Collection goes live tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/n6yvhNq8tW

— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence) January 22, 2025

“Listen Dutchman, I’m going to need you to be a f*cking man,” Strickland said. “I’m gonna need you to stand up, not go to your knees, and we’re gonna need to strike like men. I know you like to wrestle and you like to f*cking choke people out and do some g*y sh*t, dude, but I’ll make a pact with you, you make a pact with me that we f*cking stand up like f*cking men and we settle this sh*t like men.”

It didn’t take long for du Plessis to catch wind of Strickland’s proposal, which has been shut down.

There are no pacts between Lions and men https://t.co/oLxMPwgqIq

— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) January 22, 2025

“There are no pacts between Lions and men.”

Following his first clash with Strickland, du Plessis had a successful title defense against Israel Adesanya, submitting him in the fourth round. As for Strickland, he earned a split decision victory over Paulo Costa. The general consensus is that the one judge who scored the fight in favor of Costa had an egregious score total.