Sharknado! Dricus Du Plessis ‘brought in’ new training mates ashore for UFC 312 title match
Dricus Du Plessis pulls comical new stint before UFC 312 PPV title defense against Sean Strickland in Sydney.

Dricus Du Plessis prepping hard and wild for UFC 312 (Source: IMAGO/IG)
Dricus Du Plessis will look to leave no stone unturned when he runs things back with Sean Strickland in the UFC 312 PPV main event. But rather than move heaven and earth, the South African fighter parted some waters. He also reeled in a new camp member – a shark!
Yes, the Team CIT Performance Institute’s Dricus Du Plessis pulled in a shark during prep time. Still think ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor purchasing a spar-able tiger is nuttier? The Dagestani rival Team Khabib also goes a few rounds with bears and cubs. But now DDP does the same before meeting ‘Tarzan’ atop the UFC 312 PPV card this February.
Brought in some new training partners for camp, this one didn’t make the cut
Dricus Du Plessis via IG (@dricusduplessis)
Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) dethroned Sean Strickland to claim his gold at UFC 297 last January – via split decision. It was a decision the former champ highly disputes. Since then, DDP has made his stakes over the gold strong and true with a maiden defense and fourth-round submission win over Israel Adesanya.
Strickland won the title from Adesanya in a massive upset last year; so this was a strong testament to ‘doing it better.’ Now, he brings in a shark to match Tarzan’s energy better. Maybe a gorilla isn’t off the books yet for UFC 312? All jokes aside, Du Plessis isn’t very fond of Strickland’s style though.
UFC 312’s Dricus Du Plessis bills Sean Strickland’s style as boring
Self-proclaimed loudmouth company man Sean Strickland has been impatient ever since losing his gold. He rebounded from his title loss to Dricus Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 PPV in June. However, it was hardly the all-out war the duo had promised.

Du Plessis also did not like what he saw. Their PPV main card title scrap at UFC 297 earned Fight of the Night. But ‘Stillknocks’ says nothing’s changed. Strickland, with his shelled-up defensive boxing, is seemingly still boring for many people including DDP.
Nothing’s changed, he looked boring like every other fight, walking forward jabbing and teeping – it wasn’t an exciting fight, …It wasn’t a bad performance, it was the most normal performance from him ever…
Dricus Du Plessis to Niko Pajarillo of Fox Sports Australia for @mainevent
Du Plessis wanted Khamzat Chimaev for UFC 312, or anywhere. A win over the explosive Chechen ‘Borz’ would cement his style as that much better. According to DraftKings, Du Plessis is a slight -130 favorite over him, a hundred-and-ten underdog. So, odds suggest it might be another close stitch against each other at UFC 312 PPV at Qudos Bank Arena.