Strickland begins psychological warfare with Du Plessis as title fight beckons

Sean Strickland of the United States fights against Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa in a middleweight title bout during the UFC 297 event at Scotiabank Arena on January 20, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

30 Jan 2025

The first jabs between middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and contender Sean Strickland have been thrown as they prepare to face off for the second time.

The war of words between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland has begun, just over a week before the second meeting between the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight fighters.

Strickland has thrown the first verbal jab at Du Plessis, attempting to taunt the South African division champion into a fight closer to his wheelhouse.

“Listen Dutchman, I’m gonna need you to be a man,” Strickland said. “And I’m gonna need you to stand up, not go to your knees, and we’re gonna need to strike like men.

“I know you like to wrestle, you like to choke people out. But I’ll make a pact with you, you make a pact with me, that we stand up like men and we settle this like men.”

Strickland is an accomplished boxer and prefers to fight on his feet, while Du Plessis is a more polished mixed martial arts fighter, skilful in every department.

Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa. (Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

Du Plessis’ previous UFC victory came against two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in August last year through a rear-naked chokehold. Du Plessis initially wobbled Adesanya with aggressive, precise punches before taking him to the ground and choking him into submission. He can evidently fight from any position.

The response from the first South African UFC champion to the contender was concise, suggesting that he would not be dragged into stepping away from his gameplan to protect his manliness.

“There are no pacts between lions and men,” Du Plessis said on social media.

An old strategy

Psychological warfare in an attempt to throw a fighter off of their game prior to a hotly anticipated fight is as old as the oldest form of fighting itself.

Despite the well-known strategy, it still works surprisingly well. One of the more famous examples is the “The Brawl in Montreal” in 1980 where Roberto Durán taunted Sugar Ray Leonard into deviating from his signature orthodox defensive boxing technique to brawling.

Durán, the man known as “Hands of Stone”, knew that the only way to beat Leonard was to turn the fight into a slug-fest, and Leonard knew the best way to beat Durán was to out-box him.

It was Durán who prevailed, taunting Leonard’s wife relentlessly and preying on his masculinity, which was enough for Leonard to change tactics and attempt to beat Durán up in the ring. Playing into his hands, Durán won the entertaining bout via unanimous decision and destroyed Leonard’s undefeated record.

Sean Strickland of the United States. (Photo: Mark Evans / Getty Images)

Sean Strickland, left, is taken down by Dricus du Plessis of South Africa in their middleweight title bout on 20 January 2024 in Toronto. (Photo: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

In the two rematches that followed, Leonard reverted to his more natural, old-school way of boxing and beat Durán on both occasions. It included the infamous "No más" ("no more") fight in New Orleans when Durán quit in the eighth round after Leonard taunted him.

Similarly, Du Plessis, despite his awkward fighting style, is a more well-rounded mixed martial arts fighter than Strickland. However, if the South African is tempted into a stand and bang, he is likely to come out second best on 9 February 2025 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Prior to their previous meeting — when Du Plessis became the middleweight champion at the start of last year — Strickland claimed the two fighters would “go to war” in the Octagon.

While Du Plessis threw an array of different strikes and takedowns at the then champion, Strickland’s jab was his main strike weapon, and he rarely abandoned his favoured option.

He would eventually throw haymakers and several varied kicks in the fifth and final round, but it was too late to counter the damage Du Plessis had done in the four previous rounds.

If the main title fight at UFC 312 Down Under does turn into a stand and bang, it will provide great entertainment for those watching, but like Leonard before him, Du Plessis will be better off sticking to what’s led to his success so far. DM

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An old strategy