“He’s so awkward he’s good!” Sean Strickland boldly claims Dricus Du Plessis test tougher than Khamzat Chimaev for middleweight gold

Sean Strickland is the new UFC midleweight champion. He shared his thoughts on his first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis.

“He’s so awkward he’s good!” Sean Strickland boldly claims Dricus Du Plessis test tougher than Khamzat Chimaev for middleweight gold

Sean Strickland talked about his opponent Dricus Du Plessis (Source: IMAGO)

Sean Strickland caused the biggest upset in the UFC in recent times. He won his fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to become the middleweight champion. Now, he was booked to fight Dricus Du Plessis for his first title defense. This fight is going down as the main event of UFC 297 in January 2024.

Now, Sean Strickland shared his thoughts about his South African opponent on his recent YouTube video. He said that Dricus Du Plessis was so awkward that it made him good. Further, he mentioned that this fight would be a war and compared it with his potential matchup with Khamzat Chimaev. Here is what he said:

I think Dricus [Du Plessis] is like so awkward, he's good. Where it's like, you know, I'm a million times better than him, I spar guys he's fought, I know who he is. But, he's so awkward he's good. It's gonna be a fu****g war. He'll be a tougher fight than [Khamzat] Chimaev.
Sean Strickland (via his Youtube channel)
YouTube video

Dricus Du Plessis just like Sean Strickland produced a massive upset on his last fight. He beat the former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. After this, he was to challenge Israel Adesanya for the title. But due to an injury concern, he couldn’t fight Adesanya at UFC 293. That led Sean Strickland to grab the opportunity and surprise the MMA world.

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Now, the two fighters who produced the biggest upsets in 2023 face each other. They meet in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada. Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis would be the PPV opener for the UFC in 2024.

UFC middleweight Brendon Allen previews Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Brendon Allen is facing Paul Craig this weekend in the main event of UFC fight night. Ahead of his fight, he previewed his weight division’s upcoming championship bout between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. Firstly, he praised Strickland on his win over the dominant champion Israel Adesanya. Then, he complimented Strickland looking back on his career.

Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis announcement leaves fans in frenzy
Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis made the main event of UFC 297 (via IMAGO)

Later, Brendon Allen answered that Sean Strickland could beat Du Plessis. Further, he was confident that he would challenge Strickland for the title next year. Here is what he said:

I think he (Sean Strickland) has the ability to still be champion by the time I get there next year. So, I'm hoping that's what happens. (When asked whether he believed that Strickland could beat Du Plessis) Yeah, I definitely do. But, its hard to count Dricus out. He's the luckiest dude I've ever seen in my whole life.
Brendon Allen (via X)

Brendon Allen earlier fought Sean Strickland in 2020. However, he lost the bout via knockout in the second round. So his prediction of the title fight might be sound. Currently, Allen is rising through the middleweight rankings. He’s on an impressive five-fight win streak and is looking to fight for the title soon.

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