Dricus du Plessis sends vicious message to Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 312 fight

Dricus du Plessis is ready to go to war when he and Sean Strickland fight for the middleweight title at UFC 312 this weekend.

Du Plessis Promises Violence In Strickland Rematch

Set to take place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, UFC 312 is topped by the rematch between du Plessis and Strickland and also features Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang defending her belt against undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.

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The first meeting between du Plessis and Strickland at UFC 297 saw “Stillknocks” claim the middleweight belt via razor-close split decision, and after submitting two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya in August he’s looking to defend his middleweight strap for a second time on Saturday.

Dricus Du Plessis celebrates after defeating Sean Strickland during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Strickland’s attempt to set up a “pact” where the two men would agree to stand and trade strikes has already been dismissed by the champion, but ahead of their rematch du Plessis made it clear that he intends for the UFC 312 headliner to be a violent affair.

Sean Strickland fights Dricus Du Plessis during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

“When I go in there, if there’s no ref – the ref doesn’t stop it, I’m not stopping,” du Plessis said on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris. “I can be sitting on you for ten minutes bashing your face in. If the ref doesn’t say ‘Stop,’ I’m not stopping. And that is the question that me, as a modern-day gladiator has to ask myself. ‘Am still willing to die?’ Absolutely, that’s easy. It’s 'Are you willing to kill a man in front of his family?' Yes, I am. And that’s why I’m the world champion, because I say 'Yes' to that question every single time.”

There’s certainly been no love lost between the two middleweights during the lead up to their rematch, and Strickland has already echoed du Plessis’ sentiments by declaring that “It is going to be a f****** war” when the two men enter the cage again on Saturday.

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Zhang vs. Suarez and du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 will close out a UFC 312 card that isn’t loaded with star power but does feature a number of intriguing matchups, one of which is the bantamweight tilt between UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria’s brother Aleksandre and fellow UFC debutant Colby Thicknesse.

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