Does Dricus Du Plessis need to be wary of Sean Strickland this time? The duo don’t see eye to eye and already have some rivalry from their previous fight, where DDP was the winner of the close clash. For quite some time, ‘Tarzan’ was of the impression that he was the real winner and some fans even agreed with the controversial fighter. However, the South African juggernaut begged to differ recently and said that he had no doubts about who was the actual winner.

But Chael Sonnen does have some skeptical thoughts there. In a recent Instagram video, ‘The American Gangster’ decided to give his opinion on Sean Strickland’s mindset going into UFC 312– and it does not look good for DDP according to the ex-UFC fighter.

Sonnen said, almost warning ‘Stillknocks’, that he’s “Very confident Dricus is gonna find himself in a fight that is harder than he thinks it’s gonna be. He’s not fighting the same guy that he fought 13 months ago. He’s not fighting a guy where you’re the last thing on his mind. Dricus is the only thing on Sean’s mind. And I acknowledge it was close the first time. One judge thought Strickland won. So many of you thought Strickland won. And that’s what’s getting us back to this rematch.”

Chael further added that two fighters who clash inside the ring or the cage always know which fighter won among them. However, he added, “I have one exception to that: I fought with Michael Bisping. I did not know who won.” Sonnen further clarified his stance by saying that the American middleweight star was genuinely convinced that he won the first fight. Sonnen added, “So if it was close the first time, we have evidence that it should be close the second time.”

But Dricus Du Plessis cleared his stance, saying that even this time he would win, putting an end to all doubts about his victory at UFC 297. During UFC 312 media day, he said, “Now I can go and say we’re going to settle this. We’re going to put this to bed, because all the Strickland fans that believe he won that fight, I can just go out and put this behind me.” He was genuine in his stance because Du Plessis was even ready to put behind the huge fight the duo had not in the Octagon but among the crowd! 

Dricus Du Plessis does not want to press charges on Sean Strickland

This duo is not like the typical fight opponents that we witness, and their rivalry took an unexpected turn at UFC 296, not in the Octagon, but in the crowd. The mega UFC event that Dana White painstakingly organized turned into a mess with their unsanctioned fight outside the cage.

For the unversed, UFC 296 aired a hype video for Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland’s UFC 297 fight, and the crowd camera panned to ‘Tarzan’. Du Plessis was also in the frame, poking fun at the American UFC star from two seats behind him. As expected from Strickland, he lost it and went over the seats to throw punches at his upcoming opponent. From security to the UFC head honcho, everyone had to play referee and end the feud. 

The UFC boss was not happy about this and called it an ‘assault’. In a recent interview in Overdogs Podcast, the South African revealed that Dana White and Hunter Campbell even permitted him to press charges. “Dana and Hunter came over to our seats with police and security all around. They told me, ‘This was 100% assault. You have the right to press charges against Sean Strickland.'” DDP narrated. 

Surprisingly, ‘Stillknocks’ was rather amused by the whole ordeal and branded it as a “good old Friday night.” And guess what? There were talks from Strickland, who said that the seating arrangement might have been a setup by UFC to get the hype. Who knows? Maybe or maybe not! But one thing is for sure: this incident did get a lot of hype. The simmering feud then opened up inside the cage during their first fight and Dricus Du Plessis won while Strickland branded his loss as a “robbery.” 

This time, the rematch might be more than a fight—it might be the culmination of an unfinished chapter in their rivalries. Are you ready to see them clash? Share your thoughts in the comments below.