Dricus du Plessis Beats Sean Strickland By UD to Retain Middleweight Title at UFC 312

Dricus du Plessis held on to his UFC middleweight title with a unanimous decision win in his rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Strickland got off to an uncharacteristically slow start in the first round. He didn't throw nearly as many strikes as he is known for and Du Plessis was able to get the nod in the first round.

Du Plessis did well to establish some body kicks in the early rounds. Strickland started the second round strong, but faded while Du Plessis output generally stayed steady throughout the round.

Strickland had some good moments in the third round. He landed a few punches cleanly, However, Du Plessis did enough to make the round interesting to score.

Du Plessis put together one of his best sequences of the fight in Round 3. He clubbed a Strickland with a staggering right hand and appeared to break his opponent's nose.

Ultimately Du Plessis' ability to mix head kicks, body kicks and unorthodox strikes were enough to disrupt Stricklands assault and keep the belt around his waist in dominant fashion.

The win not only confirms the South African's status as the champion of the middleweight division but it gives him a 2-0 record against his American rival. Strickland's brief run as the middleweight champion was cut short by a split-decision loss to Du Plessis.

A second loss to Du Plessis gives a little more closure to the pairing.

Du Plessis has now defended the belt twice. But his goals in the division are much greater than simply winning the belt and defending it two or three times.

"[I always told myself]: 'I need to win this next fight, because this is the fight that is going to get me the next one," he said, per Leonard Solms of ESPN. "This is the fight that's leading to the ultimate goal of being the greatest, so regardless of what's on the line, the fight needs to be won.'"

So while Du Plessis has his sights set on becoming one of the greatest fighters of all time, he realizes that's a goal that has to be earned one fight at a time.

The question will now shift to who that next matchup will be against.

The obvious answer is Khamzat Chimeav. UFC President Dana White mentioned that he was "in line" for a title shot when speaking to media the week of the fight. The 30-year-old is undefeated and finally seems to have found a home in the 185-pound weight class.

Nassourdine Imavov shouldn't be discounted either, though. The Sniper stunned Israel Adesanya with a second-round TKO and has racked up a 4-0 record since February 2024.