Dricus du Plessis doesn’t have time for Sean Strickland’s nonsense.
Du Plessis and Strickland will rematch for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 312 next month, and earlier this week, Strickland called for a gentlemen’s agreement between the two to “stand up like f*cking men.” Du Plessis rejected this idea outright and speaking with Fox Sports Australia recently, the middleweight champion explained why.
“Look, it’s a ridiculous thing to ask,” Du Plessis said. “If you want to make pacts about us just standing up, go do boxing. I don’t go into fights thinking I have to stand up or take the guy down. I do what the situation tells me to do. That’s what MMA fighters do, I’m comfortable everywhere.”
Du Plessis and Strickland first fought last year at UFC 297 where du Plessis took the middleweight title from Strickland with a split decision win. In that bout, du Plessis scored six takedowns which may have contributed to his victory, so the champion obviously isn’t interested in removing that option. However, du Plessis does believe their rematch will be mostly the sort of fight Strickland wants.
“One hundred percent, I think we are most likely going to keep it standing,” du Plessis said. “I know I have the cardio, know I can push him back, and I know I have the power to knock him out, so for me that’s great. Then, if the opportunity comes to get a takedown, it’s a decision you have to make immediately. If you see the moment you take it.”
Du Plessis, of course, owes Strickland nothing in the form of pacts or negotiations, and as “Stillknocks” went on to say, in fact, did not live up to his own pre-fight talk before their first encounter.
“He said ‘to the death’ and I was ready for that,” Du Plessis said. “You saw it, too, I went forward for 23 minutes of a 25-minute fight. But from him? It was jabs and teeps. Against Paulo Costa next fight, same thing. So to the death?
“Sean Strickland knows a lot of one-liners to sound tough, but I expose fake tough guys. And as for him now again saying ‘Let’s make this pact?’ What’s the purpose of a pact after we saw what happened the last time? Plus, I’m not here to make pacts, I’m here to win.”
UFC 312 takes place on Feb. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
