{"id":519816,"date":"2026-03-05T07:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519816\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T07:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:31:11","slug":"dricus-du-plessis-likes-strickland-in-exciting-tilt-at-185","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519816\/","title":{"rendered":"Dricus Du Plessis Likes Strickland In Exciting Tilt At 185!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dricus du Plessis<\/a> (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was watching the UFC Houston main event closely on Feb. 21. That night\u2019s headliner had major ramifications on the future of the UFC Middleweight Championship picture.<\/p>\n

No. 3 contender Sean Strickland<\/a> (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) dispatched Anthony Hernandez (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 9-3 UFC) inside the third round of action with knees and punches. While Strickland made headlines both before and after the card, with his post-fight remarks ending prematurely as his microphone was cut off,<\/a> he\u2019s firmly in the conversation for the belt.<\/p>\n

In order for Sean Strickland to secure the UFC Middleweight Championship, he\u2019d need to get past current titleholder Khamzat Chimaev<\/a> (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC.) On the March 3 edition<\/a> of\u00a0The Ariel Helwani Show, Dricus du Plessis, who has a history with both Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev, discussed the possibility of a contest between Chimaev and Strickland for the latter\u2019s title.<\/p>\n

Dricus du Plessis on Possible Chimaev vs. Strickland Championship Fight<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I know, [Nassourdine] Imavov and Khamzat said they didn\u2019t want to fight each other,\u201d Dricus du Plessis began. \u201cThe UFC doesn\u2019t like that at all. I do think the [Sean] Strickland fight makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

du Plessis also mentioned that a Sean Strickland fight involving him is out of the question, barring a contest where the championship is at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think Strickland would do great against Khamzat,\u201d he continued. \u201cJust his style, I think he would.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In that same interview, Dricus du Plessis predicted that a fight between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev would go swimmingly for the former.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see what Strickland did to Imavov?,\u201d he pondered. \u201cThat striking, of course, is the other thing. Strickland\u2019s ability of when you take him down, to get back to his feet, he does a very good job at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Firm Date on When Dricus du Plessis Could Return<\/p>\n

Dricus du Plessis, currently the No. 1 contender at middleweight, hasn\u2019t fought since UFC 319 in Chicago in August of last year. Khamzat Chimaev wrested the belt away from DDP by way of unanimous decision after 25 minutes of action.<\/p>\n

Currently, du Plessis has no concrete date set for his return appearance inside the fabled Octagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an idea for April and I really wanted to fight in April,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a little injury. Nothing too serious, nothing that needs surgery. It was just something that took some time to heal. April was out, for sure, and then, maybe May, but I think May might be early, but we don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is an End to DDP\u2019s Hiatus Near and Dricus du Plessis on Current State of Middleweight Ranks<\/p>\n

Dricus du Plessis mentioned that he could be just a few short days away from getting a clean bill of health to return to competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll know by Monday if May is possible,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we\u2019ve done all the tests and everything, that\u2019ll be great. Like I said, I wanted to be back in there by April. The injury held me back a little. I could still train, but not [hold] camp. I couldn\u2019t start preparing for a fight, so, I\u2019ll know on Monday if I can start a fight camp for May, maybe June, July.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dricus du Plessis gave his thoughts on the middleweight division as it stands now and he also said that a potential fight deal never came his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird because there are no long winning streaks [at middleweight],\u201d he mentioned. \u201cThere\u2019s no big winning streaks. Almost all the guys that were on these big winning streaks lost. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see who they give me. I know they said Kamaru Usman got the offer. I didn\u2019t get that offer, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Dricus du Plessis was candid in his interview with Ariel Helwani. It\u2019s always interesting to hear what fighters think about other contenders, especially one who\u2019s battled them before.<\/p>\n

DDP may be onto something with his comments on a possible tilt between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev. If the same version of Strickland that fought in Houston shows up to fight Chimaev at a later date, Sean Strickland could be in for an easy night of work.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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