Dricus du Plessis confirmed on Sunday at UFC 312 in Sydney, as he did not like the way that the initial meeting with Sean Strickland ended with a split decision more than a year ago.
In a rather unlucky rematch, Duplesis retained his middleweight belt in a dominant decision to dominate the bloody Strickland.
“This was a big proof point for me (but) I don't want to make these decision habits,” Duplesis said. “The game plan here remained calm because (my coach) said, “I know you can knock someone out. We know you have that dog (you know you have that dog). (Inside) Try to calm down.'' Because seeing him grabbed his nose and it was really tough. ”
It was the second title defense of 31-year-old Duplesis (23-2) after beating Israel Adesanya in his fourth submission in Perth, Australia on August 17th.
In the first round, Strickland (29-7) was about to establish a jab, but Du Plessis remained offensive with a string of kicks.
Strickland continued to approach the offense carefully in the second round and chose the spot. With the exception of a strong right hand early in the round, it was Duplesis who won the crucial 28-17 strike battle.
The third pulled out more boos than the action throughout the first half of the round until it was overhanded right, then a spinning backfist by Duplesis landed.
In the fourth round, the champion broke Strickland's nose with a right punch, putting non-stop pressure on the challenger, seeing the most action. The first three rounds were very close, but Duplesis dominated the fourth.
Du Plessis continued his nose at Strickland in the final round and stayed on the attack to confirm his victory.
In the co-main event, women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili (26-3-0) overcomes the first round of rough and 21 minutes of title defense against title candidate Tatiana Suarez (11-1-0). I controlled the above and got it. An unanimous decision to hold her belt.
Chan has won the past four title defenses. Three were won by unanimous decisions and the other by submissions in the second round.
From the undercard:
Heavyweight Tarison Teixeira (8-0-0) made his UFC debut with Justin Tafa (7-5-0) with a first-round TKO. That led to this only 35 seconds with eight straight matches that Teixeira finished in the first round.
In a light, action-packed heavyweight match, Jim Crute (12-4-2) and Rodolfo Berato (12-2-1) both achieved impressive performances.
Crute ruled the first round, with Berat second best. A very close third left the judges handed over a majority draw.
In the 3rd round welterweight match, Jake Matthews (21-7-0) defeated Francis Co Prado (12-3-0) by unanimous decision.
