UFC 297 preview: Odds, picks for Strickland vs. Du Plessis

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The first UFC PPV event of 2024 happens this Saturday night, as Sean Strickland makes his first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada.

Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will also fight for the vacant Women's Bantamweight Championship in the co-main event.

UFC 297 main card preview

• UFC Middleweight Championship: (C) Sean Strickland (-125 or better) vs. (2) Dricus Du Plessis (-102 or better)
• UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship: (2) Raquel Pennington (+136 or better) vs. (3) Mayra Bueno Silva (-174 or better)
• UFC Welterweight Fight: Neil Magny (+260 or better) vs. Mike Malott (-360 or better)
• UFC Middleweight Fight: Chris Curtis (-196 or better) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (+152 or better)
• UFC Featherweight Fight: Arnold Allen (+158 or better) vs. Movsar Evloev (-205 or better)

Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis straight bet: Strickland ML (-125 or better)

Du Plessis shocked many in his last performance, defeating former Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker by TKO to earn this title shot. He was a heavy underdog in the fight, with many expecting him to fall to the former champ.

But Strickland's absolute stunner over former Middleweight Champ and division legend, Israel Adesanya, broke the internet and took the MMA world by storm. He backed up all his barking, landed one of the best right hands of the year and became the new top dog at 185-pounds.

Fast forward past the new year and there's already some bad blood in this one. Strickland and Du Plessis were chirping each other at an end of the year press conference, and that evolved into an actual brawl just one day later, when Strickland attacked Du Plessis in the stands during UFC 296.

Strickland has the fire in him now and looks like he's in the best shape of his life coming into this fight. With the odds so close together, you can take him just to win the fight.

UFC 297 main event method of victory: Strickland by points (+310 or better)

Either fighter to win by KO have better odds than this, but we don't like those outcomes for tonight.

Strickland is one of the most active fighters on the roster -- he fought three times in both 2022 and 2023 -- and has unbelievable cardio. His favorite thing to do in training is sparring, you can always find him in the cage.

He also doesn't have any extreme power. His knockout wins in the UFC are nearly all TKOs. He can continue to hammer his opponents down until they're tired and sometimes get the finish. But looking at his resume, he goes the distance more often than not.

Strickland has faced some of the top competition in the weight class (Adesanya, Jared Cannonier) and UFC as a whole (Alex Pereira, Brendan Allen, Kamaru Usman). That experience against top guys certainly gives him an edge.

Du Plessis' cardio has come into question many times over the years. He recently got his deviated septum fixed and we saw that improved cardio on display against Whittaker. But it still won't compare to what Strickland has in the tank.

It will be hard for Du Plessis to find Strickland's chin and end the fight early. Strickland's Philly Shell style made it very difficult for Adesanya, one of the most tactical fighters in the sport, to connect with anything above the shoulders.

We like Strickland to slowly pick Du Plessis apart, take him the distance and defend his belt. Du Plessis' improved cardio should help him last the five rounds, but he'll certainly gas out and be unable to get things going for himself late.

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Coby Green is a managing editor for Catena Media based out of New York. Since graduating from Rutgers University with a degree in journalism and media in 2019, he has worked as an editorial producer for SNY and an associate SEO editor for The Action Network. His go to sports for both watching and betting include the NFL, NBA, MLB and UFC.