Ice chilly.
Final Preventing Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis returns to motion for his second title protection at UFC 312 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) as he rematches Sean Strickland from inside Qudos Financial institution Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Their first battle was an ultra-close break up determination, with many individuals believing Strickland did sufficient to retain the championship. Du Plessis finally received, however on this upcoming rematch, he is obtained a barely totally different, chilling mindset.
“I am combating a man in entrance of hundreds of thousands of people that needs to kill me, and I need to kill him; that is all of the motivation I would like,” Du Plessis informed businessman Mark Bouris. “After I go in there, if the ref would not cease it, I am not stopping. I could be sitting on you for 10 minutes bashing your face, and if the ref would not say cease, I am not stopping.”
“That’s the query that me, as a modern-day gladiator has to ask myself: Am I nonetheless prepared to die? Completely. That is straightforward,” Du Plessis added. “It’s, are you prepared to kill a person in entrance of his household? Sure, I’m, and that is why I am the world champion. I say sure to that query each single time.”
This could be one of many coldest strains from an MMA fighter of all time
“Am I prepared to die?… Completely that’s straightforward. It’s are you prepared to kill a person in entrance of his household. Sure I’m… and that’s why I’m world champ as a result of I say sure each single time”
@markbouris pic.twitter.com/KIxvb8eLpj
— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) February 3, 2025
Through the buildup to the battle, Strickland provided a ‘stand-and-bang pact’ to “Stillknocks,” to which the champion declined. Nonetheless, in the identical interview, he mentioned that he already stood and banged with Strickland of their first outing.
“That was precisely what we did the final time,” Du Plessis mentioned. “He mentioned, ‘To loss of life, let’s go, ‘let’s battle to loss of life,’ and the person threw a jab and a teep for 5 rounds. And this can be a stat, you may test it, for 23 minutes I went ahead, he went ahead for 2 minutes. That may be a very clear indication of who’s there to battle and who’s there to defend.”
“Let’s not go and act as if Sean Strickland’s fights are entertaining. The person has eight break up choices,” Du Plessis concluded. “That isn’t anyone who’s on the lookout for an thrilling battle.”
LIVE! Watch UFC 312 PPV On ESPN+ Right here!
MIDDLEWEIGHT REMATCH! Final Preventing Championship (UFC) kicks off its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., Jan. 18, with its seemingly-unstoppable light-weight champion, Islam Makhachev, defending his 155-pound crown in opposition to late substitute, Renato Moicano, within the five-round predominant occasion. In UFC 311’s championship co-headliner from inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood (Los Angeles), Calif., undefeated 135-pound contender, Umar Nurmagomedov, challenges newly-minted bantamweight titleholder, Merab Dvalishvili, for the undisputed crown. UFC 311 can even characteristic the thrilling returns of former mild heavyweight champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, in addition to the pivotal middleweight showdown between Kevin Holland and Reinier De Ridder, and a lot extra! UFC 311’s begin time is scheduled for six p.m. ET (Preliminary card) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV predominant card).
Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching motion!
Do not forget that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of the whole UFC 312 battle card proper right here, beginning with the ESPN2/Disney+/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches on-line, that are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, earlier than the principle card begin time at 10 p.m. ET (additionally on ESPN+).
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