UFC 297: Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis Odds, Prediction & Betting Tips
2024 starts with a bang for fight fans as controversial middleweight champion Sean Strickland makes the first defence of his crown against No.1 contender Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 this weekend in Toronto, Canada.
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Back in September few people, if any, would have accurately predicted the outcome of Israel Adesanya's latest defence against the loudmouthed Sean Strickland, let alone the nature of one of the sport's biggest historical upsets. The American dominated the 185lbs champ with relative ease across their five round contest and further proved that there is no such thing as a foregone conclusion when it comes to mixed martial arts.
As fate should have it, Adesanya's initial discussed opponent before facing Strickland was going to be Dricus Du Plessis, so it's fitting that the South African is now getting his shot. After stopping previous gatekeeper Rob Whittaker in their summer contest, this opportunity was inevitable for 'Stillknocks' and was only prolonged due to an injury sustained in that fight.
UFC 297 Strickland vs Du Plessis Tips
Dricus Du Plessis To Win By KO/TKO or Submission
As tough as this one is to call, since both fighters have outstanding flaws that can be targeted, we have to hang our hat on one corner of the ring and we're choosing to back the challenger in 2024's opening main event. Last year, UFC belts changed hands 11 times, tying second for the most in the promotion's history, only one behind 2016's record-breaking 12. Despite Adesanya's long reign at the top, he was included twice in that statistic, regaining his crown with a defining victory against Alex Pereira before Sean Strickland famously stripped him of it once again four months back.
Many favour Strickland in this matchup due to Du Plessis' strengths predominantly lying with fighting on the outside and closing distance rapidly, which Sean never allows his opponents to do. The American loves to stand in close proximity and smother his counterpart for the duration of their three or five round fights - much like he does in his sparring-centric training camps.
We do, however, believe the explosiveness of Du Plessis is the type of unpredictable element that can often determine the outcome of evenly matched fights like this. The 30-year-old South African has proven time and time again that although he isn't the most pleasing on the eye, his methods yield results. Whichever side of the fence you're leaning towards in this contest, fans will almost unanimously agree that the judges won't be required in Toronto, so we'll take Du Plessis in the KO/TKO and submission double chance market as our 11/8 main bet.
Dricus Du Plessis To Win By Submission
History has typically dictated that when two strikers meet, a grappling match ensues, and when two wrestlers face off, a striking contest plays out. Since this pair will enter with the game plan of going toe-to-toe with one another, we do think this will produce opportunities to gain the upper hand on the mat, particularly in Du Plessis' favour. Strickland, much like Dricus, is an untidy fighter, not exactly standing as the beacon of top-level technical mixed martial arts. They will both predominantly stand and trade with one another, but Sean's eagerness to allow Dricus virtually no room to breathe could well be his downfall.
Although this is the challenger's first five round fight and the contest we're about to reference was over 15 minutes, there could be a lot of similarities to when he fought Darren Till in December 2022. The Scouser had the upper hand for a good portion of that fight and really put it on his adversary, but just when everybody was counting out the South African, he found a second wind and managed to produced a third round neck crank to earn him a career-catapulting W.
Changing levels and forcing Strickland to fight off numerous wrestling exchanges and submission attempts could well be the approach that allows Dricus Du Plessis to drag the champion into a territory we've never seen him have to face before. And in a fight with such small margins, those astute tactical ideas can be the difference between leaving the cage empty handed and carrying gold in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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