Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland ran it back in Saturday’s UFC 312 headliner, and it’s safe to say the rematch didn’t thrill the MMA masses.
The pair’s second dance went down this weekend in Sydney, Australia, 13 months on from Du Plessis securing a narrow split decision to capture the middleweight crown.
The South African made good on his promise to show more evolution in the time since the first meeting, dominantly outpointing a gun-shy Strickland across five rounds in the UFC 312 main event at the Qudos Bank Arena.
As is often the case, “Tarzan” promised fans a war on fight night but failed to deliver, with his approach even garnering boos from the crowd in attendance at some points in the fight.
And it was far from just the locals in the arena who were bemused by how the fight played out at UFC 312. Among the critics online were a pair of top 185-pound contenders vying to compete for the gold next — Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov.
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Many believed Chimaev was deserving of the first shot at Du Plessis in 2025. While “Tarzan” got the better of Paulo Costa in a lackluster 15-minute contest last June, “Borz” emphatically submitted Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi four months later.
Imavov, meanwhile, staked his claim for a first championship opportunity last weekend in Saudi Arabia, where he knocked out former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.
