Dricus du Plessis, the UFC middleweight champion, remains unfazed by the verbal attacks from Sean Strickland ahead of their rematch this weekend. Strickland has been targeting Du Plessis and his native South Africa with criticism, but Du Plessis maintains his focus on the fight and acknowledges the high tension between them.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis insists he will remain unfazed by any provocations from Sean Strickland leading up to their rematch this weekend. Strickland has been relentless in his verbal attacks on Du Plessis, taking aim at the state of his native South Africa and highlighting issues like crime and wealth disparity on social media. 'Strickland says a lot of things about a lot of things but he doesn't know anything,' Du Plessis, 31, told BBC Sport Africa.
However, the South African acknowledged the palpable tension between himself and the American fighter before their bout at Qudos Bank Arena. 'If you treat me with respect, I will treat you with respect. Sean Strickland sells fights through the way he speaks. But if you're going to try and bully me on a mic, I will make sure you know what it feels like to be bullied,' he stated. 'It's not that I have any hate towards him. Emotions are high. There's no place to be friendly right now,' Du Plessis continued. 'We are competitors. We can be respectful if he wants to be and if not, I can also be disrespectful. I have respect for Strickland but he is not my friend.' Last January, in their first encounter at UFC 297 in Toronto, Strickland used his jab effectively in the early rounds, landing more strikes than Du Plessis. However, Du Plessis managed to cut Strickland's eye in the fourth round. The fight was closely contested and ultimately went to the judges' scorecards, with Du Plessis emerging victorious with a split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48). Du Plessis has analyzed footage from the previous fight and adjusted his strategy for this rematch, aiming for his ninth consecutive UFC victory. 'There's a lot of familiarities, but obviously we saw the mistakes we made and we made the adjustments,' he explained. 'We saw areas where we are better than him and where we can do even better, and he saw the same with us. So we had to fix every mistake because now they know those mistakes, so they are going to try to exploit that. With this fight camp, what we worked on is everything that I did to do it better, quicker and more precise, more accurate. I can't make small mistakes. The margin for error will be even smaller, so I need to be perfect on fight night,' he added. Since becoming South Africa's first UFC champion, Du Plessis has become a prominent figure in the country, embodying national pride by choosing to remain based in his homeland despite its developmental stage in MMA. However, he has also faced criticism for some of his views, including his public support for former US President Donald Trump prior to his fight against Strickland. Despite the challenges, Du Plessis remains driven to maintain his position at the top of his sport and understands the responsibility that comes with setting an example for others. 'Ever since becoming world champion, I've had to prove that I'm the world champion to everybody that trains around me and work harder than every single person because I have to be the example of what it takes to be the best in the world,' he stated. 'The sacrifices needed to be made to be the best in the world been tremendous, and it hasn't changed. To get to the top is one thing, to stay at the top is the exact same thing.
UFC Dricus Du Plessis Sean Strickland Rematch Middleweight South Africa Verbal Attacks
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