UFC CLASH
‘We’ll try to kill each other’ — Sean Strickland ahead of Dricus du Plessis battle
Sean Strickland will be the fan favourite in Canada on Sunday morning, but that’s something opponent Dricus du Plessis has become accustomed to in his previous UFC fights. He's prepped and ready for war.
Strickland will step into the octagon at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, on the morning of Sunday, 21 January (SA time) as the overwhelming crowd favourite.
At the UFC 297 pre-fight press conference on Friday morning, Dricus du Plessis had to endure incessant boos, while the hundreds of spectators in attendance lapped up every word that came out of Strickland’s mouth.
One impassioned fan even ran up to Strickland to shake his hand before being escorted away by security guards.
“Applaud [Du Plessis] and encourage him because we want a war,” Strickland said, attempting to halt the ceaseless “boos” which made it impossible for Du Plessis to answer a question posed to him.
Strickland, a loose cannon at the best of times, was quickly caught up in the emotion of the occasion, making a formal agreement, over a handshake, with Du Plessis that they should try to “kill each other” when the fight starts.
“Real talk though, me and Dricus, we’re going to kill each other, for you guys,” the American said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Dricus du Plessis eyes history as South Africa’s first UFC champion
Du Plessis, in his characteristically calm demeanour, encouraged the Canadian crowd to continue the negativity toward him. “Damn Canada, your boos suck way worse than [Las] Vegas’ boos,” he said.
Dricus du Plessis during a training session at CIT Performance Institute on 30 September 2020 in Pretoria. (Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images)
Thunderous strikers
Du Plessis and Strickland are two surprise packages fighting for the middleweight belt. They are not the most technical in the division, but both are thunderous strikers that rarely stand back.
They get hit and come back harder, with no thought of stepping back for a breather. It’s what makes the title fight so eagerly anticipated.
And while the fighters have shared nasty words in the past, they share a mutual respect for the other’s fighting style.
“Here’s the thing about Dricus, he ain’t Izzy [Adesanya]. Dricus likes to fight and he’s a hell of a fighter,” Strickland said.
“I hope after we’re done, win or lose, and we’re bloody, that we put on a show for you guys.”
Du Plessis, meanwhile, has his doubts about whether the five-round bout – the first of this length of his UFC career – will go all the way.
“Anybody who knows fighting knows that this will be one hell of a fight,” Du Plessis said.
“Is this fight going the distance? Probably not. Sean Strickland has a style of going forward.
“In his last couple of fights we saw not only jabs and throwing the one-two [punch] but we saw him putting pressure on.
“I’m a guy that goes forward, I don’t fight backwards. All my fights are finishes. This is going to be one hell of a fight.
“No matter which way you look at it, you’re getting the show you’re paying for and that’s what I’m here for.”
On the ground?
Throughout Du Plessis’ UFC career – in which he has six fights and six wins – there have been questions about his stamina.
The South African was often seen breathing through his mouth. But prior to his win over future UFC hall of famer Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis went for a nose operation, which cleared up his breathing problems.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Springboks rally behind Dricus du Plessis as middleweight history beckons for undefeated UFC star
The burly 30-year-old was utterly dominant against Whittaker, TKO’ing him late in the second round.
“I have one fight in my entire career that went to decision and how did that go? Lost the first round, won both the second and third… and that happens to be a teammate of Sean Strickland,” Du Plessis said, when posed a question about his stamina. Brad Tevares is Strickland’s teammate that Du Plessis is referencing.
Where Du Plessis may have the upper hand in the brawl, he would likely be on the mat with his superior wrestling skills. Somewhere Strickland clearly doesn’t want the fight to happen.
“I wrestle everyday sadly, but let’s treat this like men,” Strickland said. “Stand in the middle and put one of us to sleep. We don’t need to wrestle… I ain’t Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. We’re here to fight.”
Into the octagon
Whether the fight is on the ground or standing up, whether the result is by knockout or decision, Du Plessis confirmed that his only motivation for stepping into the octagon is to come out as champion.
“The way we go into a fight, everybody has different motivations,” he said.
“Some people fight for the fun of it, some people do it for titles, some do it for money. I’m there to be the best in the world and that’s why I’m going out there Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time).” DM
The main event of UFC 297 is expected at about 5am on Sunday, although the exact start time depends on how long other fights last.
In respect of an article a couple days back concerning the support du Plessis has received from the Sprinboks, I posted my disquiet at the Daily Maverick’s giving attention to what I styled as ‘barbarism’. This attracted a fair amount of ad hominen blowback which I engaged with. Having checked out some YouTube videos showing du Plessis in action, both in and out of the octagon (with the OTT agressive machisimo and swagger that seems a mandatory feature of this and other engagements wherein victory is achieved through the infliction pain and trauma), I am even more of the view that such a spectacle should not qualify as a sport. Think about the meaning of the word and what it implies as to the behaviour of participants, especially in how they interact with those they are in competition against. But I do fully understand that mine is a minority view and that such displays of brutality have been constants throughout history. (Think of the Roman colloseum and what took place there.) My gripe is that a publication that I have so much respect for choses to promote this kind of thing. Am I wrong in my surmise that a healthy injection of cash from Banxso has anything to do with it. Daily Maverick, I would greatly appreciate your thinking around this.