This weekend, he has his chance.
Although the build-up to this fight has resulted in heated exchanges at press events and in the media, as well as a crowd brawl at UFC 296, the stylistic component of this main event weekend is also fascinating.
UFC 297 Full Fight Card Preview
Both Strickland and Du Plessis are truly unique in terms of how they move and attack inside the Octagon – the former working behind a defensive Philly Shell posture with constant forward pressure and volume high production; the latter wielding a jerky style where he constantly looks tired, but keeps coming forward and attacking.
“I think Sean Strickland does what he does extremely, extremely well, and that’s a similarity I have with Sean,” said Du Plessis, who held two titles simultaneously under the EFC banner at him in South Africa and exchanged the KSW welterweight strap with Roberto. Soldic in a two-fight series before arriving in the UFC. “When you watch him fight, he looks so strange and weird, and you look at me, it’s the same thing; two completely different styles, but unique in their own way.
“Because it’s so weird, it’s unorthodox to train,” the challenger added, noting that his team had surrounded him with quality training partners who were able to provide him with fac -reasonable simile of the style he will face on Saturday evening.