Will Dricus Du Plessis Make Sean Strickland Cry Again? The Champ Answers ‘Put You in Your Place’
Dricus Du Plessis will gladly put Sean Strickland in his place, if necessary. … Again.
The last time around, ‘DDP’ scored a closely contested split decision victory over Strickland to claim the UFC middleweight championship. More than a year later, they’ll run it back when the promotion heads back to Sydney, Australia for UFC 312 inside the Quodos Bank Arena.
Perhaps even more memorable than their fight was an awkward moment during the UFC 297 press conference when Du Plessis had Strickland in tears after bringing the former titleholder’s traumatizing childhood into their intense back-and-forth.
Months later, Du Plessis would have tears streaming from the eyes of Israel Adesanya ahead of their UFC 307 headliner in August.
Dricus du Plessis refuses to be bullied
Despite his clear penchant for making his opponents emotional, Du Plessis revealed in a recent interview with Niko Pajarillo of Fox Sports Australia that it’s never his goal to be disrespectful or make things personal. But if his opponents decide to dish it out, they better be prepared to take it back 10-fold.
“I just know my opponent inside and out,” Du Plessis said of Strickland. ‘Now, when it comes to me and fighting, this is my life. This is everything to me. I know everything there is to know.
“I don’t go to any press conference to say, ‘I’m going to say this, this is what I’m going to say to you to get under your skin.’ I give you the chance to be respectful, and if you try to bully me, try to be disrespectful, and try to be smart, I will put you in your place. And now, with Strickland this time around, maybe, you know, maybe that’s all he knows to do.”
