"Little bit of a chess match" - Sean Strickland's coach gets brutally honest about difficulty in game-planing for rematch against Dricus du Plessis

Sean Strickland's coach recently opened up about the difficulty of preparing for the rematch against Dricus du Plessis. The pair are set to clash this weekend, with the middleweight title once again on the line.

Strickland and du Plessis previously faced off at UFC 297 last year. 'Tarzan' was making his first title defense at the time, whereas 'Stillknocks' was competing for UFC gold for the first time. The pair then went to war in a back-and-forth contest where both men had their moments, with du Plessis eventually being crowned the winner via a close split decision.

Since their first encounter, du Plessis has backed up his title win with a stunning victory over Israel Adesanya. Strickland also bounced back and earned his second shot at the title with a hard-fought victory over Paulo Costa.

Now, with the pair set to go to war once again, Strickland's coach, Eric Nicksick, has given fans an insight into their preparations for the rematch. Speaking in a recent interview with From The Stands, the Xtreme Couture head coach revealed it's been a difficult camp to prepare for because the first fight was so close. He explained:

"It [preparing for the fight] can be a catch-22 I think in a lot of ways because the first fight was so close. You don't want to blow up the gameplan and start all over, but you also have to add some new wrinkles and stay ahead of what they might try to gameplan for. There's a little bit of a chess match there...That's where I'm at with it."

Check out Eric Nicksick's comments below (9:45):

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Israel Adesanya casts final prediction for Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has cast his final prediction for the upcoming rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

Having previously faced and lost to both men in title bouts, Adesanya offered some expert insight and analysis into the clash set to headline UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, this weekend. In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, he said:

"To be honest, it's gonna be Dricus [du Plessis] doing what he does and Sean Strickland might wrestle better, but he's not going to initiate it. If he can have his defense on point, he might be able to beat Dricus, but I think Dricus is just too tough..."

He added:

"I think Dricus is going to win, but he's going to do it the way he does - which is stubborn and take him down and try to beat Strickland up."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below (10:25):