Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa is introduced before facing Darren Till of England in a middleweight fight during the UFC 282 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 10, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his title for the second time in a rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia.
Image: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images/AFP
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his title for the second time in a rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, on February 9, 2025.
The South African defeated Strickland via a contentious split decision victory to win the title at UFC 297 in Toronto earlier this year.
He then successfully defended his title against two-time champion and Nigerian-born fighter Israel Adesanya in the fourth via submission at UFC 305 in Perth to cement his status as the king of the middleweight division.
Following Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant first-round victory over Robert Whittaker at UF308, du Plessis had expressed a preference to face him instead of Strickland, stating that the fight against Chimaev was the fight that many people wanted to see the most.
“I’ve beaten Strickland before, and I know I’ll beat him again. Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited, I think the whole world wants to see it.
“The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights, so the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. So I think the Khamzat fight is 100% what I want.
“The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.” du Plessis said as per MMA Fighting.
However, despite his preference of facing Chimaev, UFC boss Dana White has kept his word and handed the former champion his rematch.
Meanwhile, China's Zhang Weili will also defend her Strawweight division title against undefeated Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.
IOL Sport