The middleweight title will be on the line as Dricus Du Plessis defends his gold against former opponent Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. With preparations in full swing, ‘Stillknocks’ will be looking to extend his undefeated UFC streak. Interestingly, the middleweight champion possesses a unique and unorthodox fighting style—so unpredictable that his opponents sometimes believe he is simply improvising. Meanwhile, the only fighter to have ever defeated Du Plessis has now come forward to back his former opponent.

Dricus Du Plessis suffered a defeat against Roberto Soldić back in his KSW days. ‘Robocop’ knocked out ‘Stillknocks’ at KSW 45: The Return to Wembley in the round three. Years have passed since that fight and as Du Plessis is on the verge of defending his middleweight title for the second time, Soldić has come forward to give some word of praise for his former opponent.

“He’s like from that time in my fights—that time, he was dangerous. Even at 170, now he’s much bigger and stronger. You know, he is an elite, elite fighter for a reason. Champion also. He was a KSW champion. He beat me the first time. And, uh, you know, like, everyone has his way. You know, I went this side, he went that other side. And, um, I can—I see he can beat Strickland again,” said Soldić in and conversation with ‘Bloody Elbow.’

Down in the conversation, ‘Robocop’ underscored that Dricus Du Plessis is a complete fighter but he has his own unorthodox fighting style that is unpredictable for his opponents to read, “And he’s over—powerful, you know? Like, unpredictable skills, you know? Like, it’s hard to find some sparring partner like him, you know? He can do everything—the long punches, straight hard punches, hard low kicks. Wrestling, he’s good. Submission, he’s good.”

With a career record of 22 victories and 2 defeats, Dricus Du Plessis is yet to be defeated under the UFC banner. His fighting style may be a bit problematic but it somehow works for the middleweight champ. Given that, UFC welterweight fighter, Steven ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson has come forward to analyze his first win against Sean Strickland.

Steven Thompson breaks down Dricus Du Plessis’s fighting style ahead of UFC 312

Dricus Du Plessis snatched the middleweight title from Sean Strickland back when they fought against each other at UFC 297. The bout was highly competitive, with Strickland managing to outmaneuver Du Plessis at times. However, in the end, it was ‘Stillknocks’ who emerged victorious, with his hand raised in triumph. After the victory, there was a debate about the real winner of the clash, In light of that, Steven Thompson has come forward to emphasize why Du Plessis won the bout and why his fighting style is so effective.

“[Dricus] du Plessis, how does he keep winning this guy? Dude, I went back and watched the first fight cause I did a breakdown of that. I think it goes the same route. I know [Sean] Strickland’s been training with Alex Pereira but it’s not just striking, du Plessis beat him with the takedowns,” said Thompson while having a conversation with the OverDogs podcast.

He further added, “Yes, Strickland kept getting back up but it wore him and it made him tired. It fatigued him in the third, fourth, and fifth round why is why he kept getting pieced up which is wild to me. He does like so many things wrong. But then he just ends up winning it, right?”

Sean Strickland did hurt Dricus Du Plessis to such an extent that ‘Stillknocks’ was visibly unrecognizable after the fight but will ‘Tarzan’ be able to turn his turn his fate at UFC 312? State your thoughts in the comments below.