Dricus du Plessis says no one should count out Sean Strickland.
Strickland is set to challenge UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev for the title in the main event of UFC 328 in May. Chimaev won the title with a dominant performance over du Plessis in August, and given du Plessis’ pair of bouts with Strickland, the former middleweight champion has plenty of experience against both Chimaev and Strickland. When they lock horns this summer, du Plessis believes Strickland has a good chance to pull off the upset.
“I know Imavov and Khamzat kind of don’t want to fight each other. I’m not really excited for that fight,” du Plessis told SA Boxing Talk. “Not a lot of people are. But the Strickland fight?
“I faced Strickland. Strickland, in the striking, definitely beats Khamzat, for sure. Khamzat’s a problem to deal with when he has you on your back. We’ve seen that many times. But Strickland, what he does brilliantly — I took Strickland down, I think, seven times. The way he gets up — to hold him down is incredibly hard. At Xtreme Couture, where they train, they specialize in getting to their feet. And Strickland’s a lot stronger than people might think. I think he has a very good chance in that fight.”
Oddsmakers disagree. Chimaev opened as a sizable betting favorite over Strickland, and currently sits around -600, implying an 85 percent chance of victory for “Borz.” But having spent 50 minutes in the cage with Strickland, du Plessis knows the former middleweight champion brings unique challenges that are hard to prepare for, and could put Chimaev on the back foot early.
“When you fight a guy like Strickland, you have one round where you are going to struggle, because you have to figure him out,” du Plessis said. “Because he has an awkward style, and it looks wrong. It doesn’t look very intimidating at all when you watch him fight, but when you’re in there with him, he does things the way he does it, and he does it brilliantly.”
UFC 328 takes place May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.