A year ago, Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland met for the first time. At the time, Strickland was the defending champ, but he lost the belt to the South African fighter after 25 minutes of intense fighting, which earned them the Fight of the Night bonus.
Fast-forward to February 8, and the two will fight again. Can Tarzan get a payback? Judging by the UFC 312 odds, the answer is no. In his preview, we’ll analyze the odds and see whether bookies are correct to favor du Plessis.
Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Dricus du Plessis | -210 |
| Sean Strickland | +180 |
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2024
- Time: ~10:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: PPV
Dricus du Plessis Coming to Sydney as a -210 Favorite
Dricus du Plessis is 22-2 overall, but neither of his two losses happened in the UFC. Since he joined Dana White’s organization in 2020, this guy is 8-0.
The best thing is that du Plessis has defeated some real elite opponents, including Strickland, but also Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
This guy’s a hell of a striker, who lands 6.18 significant strikes per minute on average, which is the second-highest number in the UFC Middleweight division. Guess who’s No. 1? Sean Strickland!
Should this worry du Plessis? We think it should. This goes especially given that of all his recent fights, the with Stricks was the hardest – he won by split decision.
Can +180 Underdog Strickland Upset the Odds?
Sean Strickland is 29-6 overall, with most of his wins happening by decision, which is a testament of how hard this fighter is. Sure, Strickland haters would say that he’s too soft and boring, but we say that he’s a tactical fighter with incredible stamina.
While his punches and kicks don’t seem too powerful, the fact is that he lands a lot of them – he lands 6.32 significant strikes per 60 seconds.
He probably doesn’t have what it takes to knock du Plessis out on February 8, but we think he could take the fight to distance. Last time, he almost won it. If he puts on even only a slightly better performance this time, he could win.
Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 Prediction
Even though the UFC 312 odds favor du Plessis, our pick is Strickland. Our prediction is that he’s going to go all-in in this fight, doing something we haven’t seen from him before. It’s going to be a bloody 5-round battle and he’s going to win the war.