UFC 312: What to know before Strickland and Dricus clash again

WEB DESK: This weekend, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis will enter the octagon and see former champ Sean Strickland across the cage. The two will face off in a rematch of their January 2024 bout. Here’s everything you need to know before the main event kicks off.

The First Fight (UFC 297)

A little over a year ago, Strickland arrived in Toronto, Canada, four months after beating former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, to defend his newly adorned belt against Dricus du Plessis. The bout that ensued was a close fought one. Strickland did enough to win on one judge’s scorecard, but the other two saw it differently.

After winning by split decision, it became apparent that a rematch was brewing moments later at the post fight press conference. In the midst of discussing the close fight, Dricus asked a question to the reporters.

“Just for the record, is there some people who think I lost the fight?”

Members of the media responded by apprising Dricus that moments before he came out, Dana White, UFC CEO, stated that he believed Strickland won the fight in his own press conference.

“Dana said it? Well bullshit.”

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Since Their Bout

Despite the doubt from some, Strickland would go on to fight again, adding Israel Adesanya’s name to his already impressive win column that contains the likes of Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Darren Till. The fight against Adesanya had some bad blood behind it, as the two had previously butted heads regarding their African roots.

Regardless, not only did Dricus beat Adesanya, who is considered by many to be one of the greatest middleweights of all time, he became the second man to finish him after Alex Pereira. He ended the fight with a face crank in the fourth round.

Strickland also fought once more after his bout with Dricus, in July 2024. He faced off against Paulo Costa and won via split decision. Now, the two fighters are set to clash again, and they are ready to put any questions about who is the best between the two to rest.

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Pre-Fight Press Conference

A reporter began the pre-fight rpess conference by reiterating that Dricus believes he won the first fight, before asking what this rematch signified for the champion.

“Are you using this as kind of a way to erase all the questions and just confirm that you are the best middleweight in the world and there is no drama concerning the Sean Strickland fight?”

Dricus began by reminding the fans that he wasn’t the only one who said that he won that fight.

“The judges said I won that fight.”

He later addressed the question directly, stating “sure, the rematch was the next one up, I would have preferred that Khamzat fight, but he was the one and there we go.”

Strickland also reiterated his belief that he won the first bout, as well as his prediction for the rematch.

“I won that fight and I’m gonna win this fight, so F****** saddle up and let’s get it done.”

However, he did concede the loss a little shorty after.

“I take my L’s like a man and f****** according to some blind ass f****** judge, the Dutch man won, an I’ll give it to him, but he’s not f****** winning Sunday, 25 minutes of fucking war.”

That war will likely start around 4 PM in Australia, and around 10 AM in Pakistan. If fans tune in at 2 PM Australia time, or 8 AM Pakistan time, they can watch the rest of the main card, which features Zhang Weili defending her strawweight title against Tatiana Suarez, Justin Tafa brawling Tallison Teixeira in a heavyweight bout, Jimmy Crute taking on Rodolfo Bellato in a light heavyweight fight, and Jake Matthews opening the card in a welterweight bout against Francisco Prado.

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