The first UFC Pay-Per-View of the new year has finally arrived. This Saturday in Toronto, Canada, we see a grudge match between Middleweight champion Sean Strickland and second ranked Dricus Du Plessis in the Main Event.
The Co-Main event features second ranked Raquel Pennington and third ranked Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant bantamweight title. These two will look to be the successor of the greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes.
Strickland and Du Plessis’ Brawl Adds Sparks
The highly anticipated fight between champion Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis got even more interesting after their brawl in the stands at UFC 296. The two have seemed to have apologized to each other this week, but there is still underlying tension between them. Strickland comes into this fight after his shocking upset decision victory over former champion Israel Adesanya. He has won three straight and will fight in his eighth five-round fight, whereas Du Plessis has never been in a five-round fight.
Du Plessis is a perfect 6-0 in the UFC. There were many question marks about his gas tank before his fight with Robert Whittaker, but he shut up all the critics with a brutal second round TKO over the former champ Whittaker.
Championship Rounds
Many fans believe that this fight does not go past two or three rounds with both Strickland and Du Plessis loving to go forward and be the aggressor. However, this is a title fight and fighters tend to change up their game plan a little bit to be more contained and feel comfortable in the octagon over five rounds. Du Plessis should mix in takedowns to maintain pressure without getting in that street fight that Strickland seems to always come out victorious in.
I believe that Strickland is already feeling the pressure of being champion, and if you change his game plan by not letting him fight his style, it will open up even more holes in the fight for Du Plessis. As crazy as it may sound, Du Plessis to win by decision at +1000 has great value. Look for Du Plessis to slowly break down Strickland on his way to winning by unanimous decision and become the new Middleweight Champion.
Will the Canadian Dominance Repeat?
The last time we saw the UFC touch down in Canada, every single Canadien won their fight. We will see eight Canadiens on this card try to keep the streak alive.
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