Dricus du Plessis has undoubtedly established himself as one of the most formidable UFC fighters, having now twice defended his middleweight title to keep the belt in the hands of South Africa.
This weekend saw Du Plessis claim a second win over Strickland – having first taken the title from the American – before defending it at UFC312 in emphatic fashion, while in between those bouts he also comprehensively overcame Israel Adesanya last year.
For his latest victory, Du Plessis was expected to maintain a similar financial trajectory with a reported base salary of $500,000 (R9.2 million), with potential earnings surpassing $1 million (R18.4m) when factoring in PPV revenue and performance bonuses.
His total earnings will also depend on the PPV performance, which was expected to be another big ticket item.
HOW DID THE DRICUS DU PLESSIS FIGHT GO DOWN ON SUNDAY?
The first three rounds were competitive, but largely favoured the champion, as Du Plessis frequently landed the heavier blows as the two men battled exclusively on the feet. It was in the fourth that a clean right hand exploded Strickland’s nose, leaving his face smeared in blood heading back to the corner, before the South African continued to pick away at the challenger over the final five minutes to further solidify the result.
When the scores were read, they all favoured Du Plessis, with “Stillknocks” earning his ninth UFC win in as many starts and 11th consecutive win overall, moving to 23-2 for his career with the victory.
With things between these two settled, it will be interesting to see what comes next for the surging champion, as both Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov loom.
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland 2 Results
- Dricus Du Plessis defeats Sean Strickland by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
- Zhang Weili defeats Tatiana Suarez by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
- Tallison Teixeira defeats Justin Tafa by TKO (strikes) at 0:35 of Round 1
- Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
- Jake Matthews defeats Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Gabriel Santos defeats Jack Jenkins by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:06 of Round 3
- Tom Nolan defeats Viacheslav Borshchev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Wang Cong defeats Bruna Brasil by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Aleksandre Topuria defeats Colby Thicknesse by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Rongzhu defeats Kody Steele by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jonathan Micallef defeats Kevin Jousset by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Quilland Salkilld defeats Anshul Jubli by KO (right hand) at 0:19 of Round 1
WHAT WAS YOUR HIGHLIGHT FROM THE FIGHT?
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