Israel Adesanya sees Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 312 playing out similarly to their first fight.
Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) defends his middleweight title in a rematch against Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC), which headlines the Feb. 8 event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Du Plessis defeated Strickland by split decision in their first title fight at UFC 297, and Adesanya thinks he will likely edge him out again.
“I say that Dricus wins that one if it’s close, maybe,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “Or maybe it’s more decisive this time. It’s going to be a hard fight for both men, but I think I would give the edge to Dricus in this fight.”
Former champion Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Nassourdine Imavov (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on Feb. 1 in the UFC Fight Night 250 headliner at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Those two losses came in title fights against Strickland and Du Plessis.
With Adesanya competing one week before the middleweight title fight, will he be in attendance for UFC 312?
“I’ve got teammates fighting, so most likely will be there,” Adesanya said.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.
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