"This fight's not going round four and five" - Dricus du Plessis confident about finishing Sean Strickland at UFC 297
Dricus du Plessis, who is set to take on Sean Strickland for the middleweight championship this Saturday night, is on the cusp of MMA greatness. Not only does the South African see the fight going his way, but he is convinced that he will knock the champion out at UFC 297.
Giving his prediction for the fight to TNT Sports, 'Stillknocks' made a bold claim that he was going to finish 'Tarzan' before the championship rounds:
"I finish Sean Strickland within the first three rounds of this fight. This fight is not going round four and five, there is no way."
The South African challenger is 20-2 in his professional career and holds a spotless record in the UFC with wins against the likes of former champion Robert Whittaker and former top contender Derek Brunson.
Oddsmakers have the fight as a close one. Per a report by The Athletic, Strickland is a -125 favorite against du Plessis (+105 underdog) for the fight.
Whether du Plessis' prediction comes true or not, the fight has certainly attracted tremendous fanfare. Per Dana White, the event has attracted a live gate of $7.6 million and has broken the record for the highest-grossing arena event in Canada.
The credible figures for the event come as little surprise, especially considering the turbulent lead-up to the event, with merciless trash-taking and a public physical altercation between the headliners, which has given fans much to discuss.
Watch Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis throw down at UFC 296 below:
Sean Strickland says UFC set him up for public scuffle against Dricus du Plessis
At UFC 296, Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis engaged in an all-out brawl, resulting in 'Tarzan' being escorted out of the premises. Interestingly, the American champion believes the UFC was counting on him to throw the first punch.
During a recent segment on his YouTube channel, the 32-year-old accused the world's premier MMA promotion of setting him up for violence at the December pay-per-view:
"F**k you, UFC... You put Dricus behind me, me of all people. I walk around telling you that I don't leave my house because I fantasize about f*****g up people, and I don't like to put myself in these situations where I could potentially go to prison for the rest of my life. So the UFC is like, 'We are going to put this mother f****r who made fun of his child f*****g trauma, we're going to put him right behind him!' So they 100 percent set me up for that s**t."
Catch Sean Strickland's comments about the altercation below (16:41):