Dricus du Plessis predicts Sean Strickland will abandon gameplan at UFC 312: "He finds it hard to listen to his coaches"

Dricus du Plessis has previewed his upcoming UFC 312 headliner against Sean Strickland. The pair compete for the South African's middleweight title, and the champion is certain that Strickland will not be able to follow his team's gameplan. This, du Plessis believes, is owed to Strickland's inherent stubbornness.

The 31-year-old touched on the matchup in a recent interview with Nina-Marie Daniele, who is known for her close friendship with Strickland. While du Plessis recognizes him as a skilled fighter, he ultimately feels that Strickland's tendencies will overpower his coachability.

"I think Sean is going to be Sean in there. The fight will be different in many ways because they have made adjustments and I have made adjustments. The problem comes in when those adjustments doesn't work. When you are getting beaten, to stay, to stick to the plan, that's hard. That's when the old Sean will reveal itself, not listening. I know it. He finds it hard to listen to his coaches and sticking to the gameplan and not just go in there and trying to fight."

Check out Dricus du Plessis analyzing Sean Strickland (33:05):

Du Plessis has been supremely confident ahead of his rematch with Strickland, though not everyone is certain about his chances of successfully defending his middleweight title. Jared Cannonier previously shared his thoughts on the matchup, arguing that Strickland should be favored to win.

However, Israel Adesanya, who has suffered losses to both UFC 312 headliners, believes that du Plessis will get his hand raised. In fact, he feels that the South African star could score a submission.

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Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in their first encounter

The first encounter between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland occurred at UFC 297. At the time, Strickland was the defending middleweight champion, fresh off a historic win over Israel Adesanya. Unfortunately for him, he came up short against du Plessis, who dragged him to hell and back.

The two men engaged in a closely-contested war defined by grit as much as skill. In the end, du Plessis won via split-decision: a controversial verdict in the eyes of some, including Strickland.