Dricus Du Plessis speaks out on Sean Strickland’s chances of a title rematch

Dricus Du Plessis has discussed the possibility of fighting Sean Strickland again.

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Former UFC middleweight champion and current No. 1 contender Strickland has been calling for a rematch with Du Plessis since their first meeting at UFC 297 in January, with Du Plessis becoming the new champion at that distance.

The fight couldn’t have been more exciting with one judge favoring Strickland for three rounds, while the other two judges had Du Plessis on their scorecards, giving him the split decision victory that Strickland has fought time and time again.

Strickland has long fought for an immediate title shot and strengthened his case with a points win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Strickland is ranked No. 1 in the division and says he won’t fight anyone else, including Robert Whittaker, unless it’s for the championship.

Du Plessis, who makes his first title defense against former champion Israel Adesanya next week at UFC 305, was recently asked if he would give Strickland a rematch afterward, given the controversy surrounding their last bout.

“I don’t owe Sean anything,” Du Plessis said Kevin Iole“The rules are pretty clear. It’s called round-by-round (scoring). The fact that it was a split decision is the biggest shock for me. It was a very clear win for me.”

Du Plessis says he owes Strickland nothing, but the South African wouldn’t mind getting revenge against one of the sport’s most popular and outspoken stars in the future.

“For me, the biggest fight is the fight that I want, the fight that the fans want to see. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who pay for the tickets, they buy the pay-per-views, and they’re the ones who watch this sport. So, for me, the Adesanya fight was by far the biggest fight. That’s probably the biggest fight of the year, one of them anyway. And the Strickland fight, for sure. If that’s the fight that makes sense, then that’s the fight I’m going to fight.”

“I would have had no problem doing the rematch. I even told the UFC, I said it’s no problem if they want to do the rematch, if Izzy’s not ready to fight or something. Strickland rematch, I’m more than willing. Even in Vegas in his hometown, I have no problem with that. And they decided to go with the Adesanya fight, which is great for me.”

Du Plessis added that a potential rematch with Strickland “would be even bigger the second time around” as the build-up to UFC 297 and their overall performance had been well received, having secured an early contender for Fight of the Year in Canada.

However, the reigning champion could find himself in a world where Strickland is overtaken by another contender if he continues to wait for him.

“After that, we’ll see what happens,” Du Plessis said of his future after UFC 305. “But it will be interesting to see if Strickland even gets close to the conversation with Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker who are going to fight soon.”

Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev were billed as a middleweight title eliminator when they were booked in June, but the bout was postponed after Chimaev withdrew from the bout. Perhaps second time’s the charm, as the two fighters will face off at UFC 308 with a title fight on the horizon depending on their performance.

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