"Dricus gives Khamzat problems" - MMA analyst predicts how Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 could dictate 2025 UFC middleweight title picture

Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 is set to take place as the UFC 312 headliner. According to the analysts at talkSPORT MMA, the bout will serve as a continuation of the du Plessis era at 185 pounds. In fact, even undefeated Chechen phenom, Khamzat Chimaev, may not be enough.

One of the analysts praised the South African star for his bulletproof mentality. Du Plessis is always underestimated and disregarded due to the poor optics of his technique. However, he still enters the octagon absolutely convinced by his ability to stop everyone in his path.

"And you talk about mindset, and Dricus, his mindset is absolutely elite. He goes in there believing he's going to beat everybody. We'll see how the Strickland rematch goes, because I think how that goes determines who is champion at the end of the year. I think that Dricus gives Khamzat problems, and Khamzat's who we're really talking about when we're talking about people waiting in the wings."

Check out the the talkSPORT MMA analysts on Dricus du Plessis' place at middleweight (54:24):

While Chimaev more than proved his mettle by dominating and submitting an ex-middleweight champion in Robert Whittaker, he may encounter some difficulty against du Plessis, whose size and physicality could prevent Chimaev from bullying him as he often does.

Moreover, a prolonged striking exchange could favor du Plessis, who is powerful like Chimaev but has a much better gas tank or, at the very least, a stronger will to persevere given the mechanics of his movement late into fights.

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Dricus du Plessis has dominated the UFC mididleweight division

There is good reason to favor a continuation of Dricus du Plessis' title reign at middleweight. He is currently undefeated in the UFC, having beaten everyone in his path, including three former champions in Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland, and Israel Adesanya.

Only Strickland survived to see the judges' scorecards, losing via split-decision to the South African star. Now, du Plessis will look to score his 9th consecutive win in the promotion by beating Strickland for a second time at UFC 312 to further solidify his spot among the middleweight greats.