Why Strickland Vs. Du Plessis Scheduled for UFC 297 Is Even More Interesting Than You Think
Unless you’re living under a rock, you must have seen a viral cage-side fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 296. Before this, not many people cared about the fight; however, now everyone sings a different tune.
From the fight no one knew they wanted to the fight that couldn’t come soon enough, UFC 297 seems to be the most anticipated fight in years.
Even some of the people who previously showed no interest in this event are now looking for tickets and even UFC sportsbooks. Things just got more interesting. In terms of odds, Strickland is currently a favorite, but the difference is not as significant as you would expect.
First of all, after the video went viral, everything about the event received even more spotlight. Everyone shared and reshared, and people even started making jokes about Strickland throwing more punches at UFC 296 than Covington.
Now, there are some who claim that, at the end of the video, the security had to pull Du Plessis from Strickland, while others claimed that this was only because Strickland slipped from the chair. The bottom line is that we won’t have to wait too long to find out the answer since the fight is scheduled for the 21st of January.
Another thing worth keeping in mind is the development of the middleweight champion no one wanted into one of the most popular fighters alive.
Let’s be honest and admit that Strickland had some “problematic” statements over the past few months. However, his gracious attitude after victory over Adesanya, his plea to Gilbert Burns’ wife to move the children before he jumped Du Plessis (she even went on X to publicly praise him for it), and some of his latest statements show a different side of Stickland.
Moreover, a lot of people wondered if Strickland was for real or if it was all just an act. Well, it seems like Du Plessis really managed to get under his skin, which only reinforces the idea that what Strickland preached was really from the heart.
On the part of Du Plessis, we got to see him in a completely different light. He definitely knows how to trash-talk and how to play the villain. In other words, regardless of who wins during UFC 297, we, as an audience, won’t walk away with a boring middleweight champion. What a time to be alive if you’re a fan of UFC middleweight since the division has never looked more interesting.
Who knows, if Strickland wins, we might even see Ian Garry going up in weight in order to try and restore some of his family honor in the octagon.
As far as the rest of the fights for the night go, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva are the co-main event for the night. Aside from them, Neil Magny faces Mike Malott in the welterweight division, Chris Curtis faces Marc-AndréBarriault in the middleweight, and Arnold Allen is expected to fight Movsar Evolev in the featherweight division bout.
