UFC - UFC #312
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Du Plessis vs Strickland Prediction & Picks - UFC #312
by Stephen Abiola | in UFC Picks
Sean Strickland (29-6-0) will try to cause an upset in the Middleweight division on Saturday night when he battles Dricus Du Plessis (22-2-0) at UFC 312. This highly anticipated pay-per-view main event will be inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Strickland will enter this matchup wearing an underdog tag and looking to make it two wins on the bounce. He will also have an eye on avenging his loss against “Stillknocks” at UFC 297.
However, Du Plessis will be well-prepared for the “Tarzan” and protect his reign at all costs. He has held the 185 lbs title since defeating Strickland at UFC 297 in January 2024. Du Plessis is the first fighter to defend this title since Alex Pereira in November 2022. He successfully defended it in August last year after seeing off former champion Israel Adesanya via submission. He hasn’t fought since then, and this matchup allows him to show that he can defeat Strickland fair and square.
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Du Plessis & Strickland Squad Analysis
Dricus Du Plessis (DDP) is a South African professional MMA fighter born in January 1994. He is the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion and the first South African fighter to win a UFC title. Currently, he is seventh in the men’s pound-for-pound UFC rankings. Du Plessis is also a former Middleweight and Welterweight champion of the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). Besides MMA, Du Plessis also played Rugby in high school and studied agricultural economics at the University of Pretoria.
The American currently participates in the Middleweight division of the UFC and will be looking to recapture the title he won in September 2023.
Sean Strickland is a little older, born in February 1991. Strickland, who hails from Corona, California, made his professional MMA debut in 2008 at the King of the Cage promotion. He went on to bag nine straight wins before joining the UFC in March 2014. Strickland defeated Bubba McDaniel in his first match via submission in round 1. He is capable of causing an upset on Saturday night.
Du Plessis - Strickland Key Points
- Du Plessis is 10-0 in his last 10 fights.
- Strickland is 4-1 in his last five fights.
- The total rounds exceeded 1.5 in seven of the last eight DDP fights.
- Five of the last six Strickland fights have gone over 4.5 rounds.
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Our Du Plessis vs Strickland Prediction
Strickland has been yearning for a rematch against DPP to regain his lost title. Dana White finally gave in to his desires after he won at UFC 302. However, defeating the ‘flawless’ South African won’t be easy. Du Plessis lands averages 6.18 significant strikes per minute, whereas Strickland averages 6.01. Du Plessis also has a better striking accuracy of 49% compared to Strickland’s 42%. As we’ve seen earlier, DPP would love to get the job done early, although Strickland usually drags out fights. We could see the same outcome as we saw at UFC 297. Our prediction for Du Plessis vs Strickland: Du Plessis to win.
Du Plessis vs Strickland - Other Interesting Picks
Under 4.5 rounds.
The total rounds have gone over 4.5 only twice in the last eight UFC matchups involving Du Plessis. In fact, under 2.5 rounds have been hit on four occasions. These numbers show a fighter who is always eager to finish his opponents early. In that case, our secondary prediction for this fight is under 4.5 rounds.
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All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
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