Dricus du Plessis has nothing but respect for Sean Strickland’s fighting ability.
Du Plessis knows a good deal about Strickland, having fought the man for 50 combined minutes in their two middleweight title fights. But while “DDP” has two wins over Strickland, it’s Strickland who is the current UFC middleweight champion, because du Plessis lost the title to Khamzat Chimaev and Strickland upset Chimaev at UFC 328.
Strickland’s win was one of the biggest upsets of the year, and per du Plessis, a perfect
example of what makes the middleweight champion such a tough challenge.
“He’s always been a great wrestler,” du Plessis said on Fight Forecast. “I took him down, I think seven times, but to hold him down is very, very hard, and that was going to be the question, especially for the Khamzat fight, which he answered. He is hard to hold down. He is very fit. He can always go five rounds. And he’s so good at dragging people into his style, and I think when Khamzat couldn’t enforce his style — he had that first round. He got very tired because he worked very hard, because I think he thought, ‘I’m just gonna go for it, because when I have this guy’s back, I’m going to submit him.’
“Strickland is very good on the ground, especially defensively. I think that was the perfect plan. Strickland went out there, and he kept the pace on Khamzat. Even when Khamzat had him down, he didn’t try to defend, get him off his back — he kept on fighting, fighting, fighting. And when he started stopping Khamzat’s takedowns, Khamzat got tired, and he got forced to fight Strickland’s fight. And Strickland wins that every single time.”
While nothing has been made official yet, all signs point to Strickland’s first title defense being against Nassourdine Imavov. Strickland and Imavov fought once before, a short-notice fight at 205 pounds in 2023, that Strickland won by unanimous decision. Since then, Imavov has rattled off five consecutive wins, including a knockout over former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, to establish himself as the top contender at 185 pounds. But while du Plessis agrees that he deserves it, he doesn’t fancy Imavov’s chances against Strickland.
“Imavov took a long time off. He’s been out for quite a while,” du Plessis said. “Obviously, deserving of the next title shot, he’s on a streak, but if you look at their first fight, I just don’t think there was a lot of changes in Imavov’s game, other than he spent time on the ground, defending takedowns. But that’s not going to be Strickland’s game plan. We know that. And I don’t see in his striking a lot of change, and I definitely don’t see striking changes in Strickland’s game.
“So I honestly believe we’re looking at the same result as the first one. Strickland’s going to walk forward; Imavov has this style of hitting and running, hitting and running. And he does a great job of that; he doesn’t get into a firefight. But with Strickland, he goes forward. That pressure, he’s just gonna always — you can’t let that guy go forward.
“Imavov’s style is very similar to Adesanya’s style, and Strickland has proven that he has the antidote to that style, by pressuring, pressuring. His defense is so good that even if he goes forward, he doesn’t get clipped with those shots. He keeps it safe. He prioritizes the defense. So I honestly believe we’re going to hear, ‘And Still!’”
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FINAL THOUGHTS
I hate to disagree with DDP, but I think Imavov has a fair chance to beat Strickland in their rematch. The bout seems 50/50 to me. Yes, Strickland won the first one, but that was a short-notice change of opponent, with Imavov going from fighting Kelvin Gastelum to Sean Strickland; not exactly similar styles.
But mainly, if you go back and look at Strickland’s last several fights, you’ll notice that he performs his best against wrestlers trying to take him down. Fluffy and Khamzat wanted to get to the ground, and that plays into Strickland’s hands (by far Chimaev’s best work was when he simply committed to striking). Meanwhile, DDP wailed on Strickland in their rematch, and the Costa fight just kind of stunk.
I’m seeing a split decision either way, but what say you?
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