Michael Bisping anticipates 'ridiculous' rematch between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland at UFC 312

Updated 03/02/2025 at 21:39 GMT

Michael Bisping believes Dricus Du Plessis' rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 will be "ridiculous", with the former favourite to claim victory. The pair will square off a year after Du Plessis beat the American in a close contest to claim the middleweight title. Bisping also labelled Du Plessis a "destroyer" and said Strickland would need to "do something different" to win.

Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa reacts after his submission victory against Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 305 event.

Image credit: Getty Images

Michael Bisping has claimed Dricus Du Plessis’ rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 will be "ridiculous".

Du Plessis will square off with Strickland, a year after the former took the middleweight title from the American.

The South African subsequently retained his title against Israel Adesanya in August, while Strickland bounced back by claiming a decision victory over Paulo Costa in June.

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Ahead of the bout, Bisping defended Du Plessis’ unconventional style and insisted the 31-year-old was a "destroyer".

"People like to talk about [Du Plessis]," Bisping said on TNT Sports’ Fight Week. "They like to criticise, they like to say, ‘he’s not very good. He doesn’t look too technical. He doesn’t look too fluid. He’s not like a ballerina in the Octagon’.

"I’ll tell you what he is - the man is a destroyer. He’s got ridiculous power, he’s got one of the most powerful minds, excellent takedowns, hits like a truck. You put all that together and combine it with an endless gas tank as well and you have got a tough problem for anybody.

"This fight’s going to be ridiculous. Sean Strickland’s going to have to do something different if he wants to reclaim that belt."

Echoing Bisping’s Du Plessis praise, Nick Peet added: "He’s on a colossal run. Eight fights in the UFC. All wins. Six finishes. Four performance bonuses. Picking up the belts along the way. As you say, pretty much closing the door on [Israel Adesanya] in the short term.

"He has been nothing short of phenomenal. And he gets better with every single performance. I think sometimes we overlook the fact that, because he’s only been in the UFC for a handful of fights, that he was a multi-weight world champion on multiple continents as well. This guy’s a serial winner. He finds a way.

"And yes, when you watch his style you think, ‘oh, he’s not all that’. But he wins consistently - winning is a habit, and this guy is a junkie. He’s addicted to winning. And we’re yet to see the best of Dricus Du Plessis as well. I think that’s the most exciting thing about him."

Strickland needs ‘to make the changes’

The consensus among both pundits was that Strickland would need to make changes to his gameplan to beat Du Plessis.

Peet suggested that UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who has been training with Strickland, could help the American gain the edge over his opponent.

"Strickland is the guy that needs to make the changes," Peet said. "He’s the guy that needs something else on top of their last fight and what we’ve seen in training camp, in the build up, is that he’s been working with Alex Pereira a lot more. There’s talk of him even maybe being in the corner this weekend of Sean Strickland.

"But in terms of Strickland, to have someone like Pereira, who is pound for pound arguably the best fighter on the planet right now in your corner, giving you some extra knowledge, those extra tidbits. Maybe that will just give the x-factor to get over the line."

Peet continued: "Even though I thought Dricus was a deserved winner in the first fight, it was still a split decision. The judges were still divided on it, so it wasn’t like Strickland was completely out of the fight.

"So it’s those small margins that may well get him over the line, but to do it, I don’t think it's necessarily about being technical or having the better gameplan. Someone’s going to have to out-will Dricus. No-one’s been able to do it in the UFC yet. Nobody.

"People have picked holes in his game, people have won rounds and had moments against him, but nobody has broken him mentally, which is why he’s been so successful. That’s what Strickland has to do this weekend. Break Dricus mentally. Can he do it? I don’t know whether he can."

Bisping argued that there "were a few keys to victory" for Strickland, and insisted that he may opt to take down his opponent.

He argued: "Certainly Sean Strickland in this one has got to go forward. He can’t allow himself to get backed up all the time.

"Yes he uses that jab. It’s very precise and will bust up the face and bloody the eyes. But it’s the key to the door. He’s got to use that to set up other strikes. And he’s got to stop Dricus when Dricus charges in.

"When he does that car crash, [Strickland] can’t allow himself to back up so he’s got to have something to meet him head on, whether that’s a knee up the middle or an elbow in the face.

"I think we might see Sean Strickland actually going for a takedown himself. [Strickland’s coach] Eric Nicksick was telling me that in the gym that man out-wrestles nearly everyone. They wrestle three, four days a week but he just never uses it. And [Nicksick] wasn’t giving away the gameplan but he did say that, ‘this time, we want him to use all of his tools.’

"And I think because Strickland recently came out and said, ‘listen, be a man, don’t wrestle me, don’t take me down’. I think that’s all psychological warfare. I don’t think Dricus is going to fall for that, but what it might do is send a message to Dricus to say, ‘once again, he’s just going to come out and stand’. And when Sean Strickland shoots a takedown of his own, the element of surprise is always there.

"There are just a few keys to victory for Sean Strickland. Basically he’s got to go forward and he’s got to fight. You can’t just rely on the jab."

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