Overview
- Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland on February 8 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, in a rematch of their UFC 297 fight.
- Their first bout ended in a split decision win for Du Plessis, sparking debate over the scoring and Strickland's performance under challenging circumstances, including a severe cut.
- Du Plessis has emphasized his evolution since their last fight, aiming to eliminate any doubts by securing a dominant victory or finish in the rematch.
- Strickland, who has trained with Alex Pereira for this fight, seeks redemption and has criticized the scoring criteria from their previous encounter.
- The fight headlines a card that also features Zhang Weili defending her strawweight title against undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.