Dricus du Plessis has expressed no regrets about his role in the escalating feud with Sean Strickland, stating that he stands by his comments and actions leading up to their middleweight title fight at UFC 297.
Dricus du Plessis has no qualms about the hostility brewing with Sean Strickland. He’s cool with it. This Saturday, he’s challenging Strickland for the middleweight title in UFC 297’s main event. Initially, there wasn’t much chatter between the two. But boy, things have changed.
A fiery press conference in December sparked a full-on brawl at UFC 296. Some folks think the trash talk went too far. Dricus? He’s not buying that.
“I don’t regret a thing,” du Plessis declared on The MMA Hour. “I said what I said. If you’re gonna dish it, better be ready to take it.” He’s not one to harp on things, but he stands by his words. “I stated facts. He joked about it. I didn’t. It clearly affected him.”
He’s not gonna keep bringing it up, though. He got the reaction he wanted. No need to keep hammering on it.
“It’s awful what happened to him, but it did,” du Plessis continued. “Don’t dish out what you can’t take. He disrespected me, my coach. I won’t let that slide. We’re square now. It’s all business. No hard feelings. I’m here to win.”
The tension between du Plessis and Strickland escalated when du Plessis made some harsh comments about Strickland’s childhood trauma. He said he’d “beat the s*** out of” Strickland worse than his dad did. Strickland didn’t take it well.
Strickland had previously shared his childhood trauma, saying some things are off-limits in trash talk. Du Plessis calls that hypocrisy. “He said a lot about Khalil Rountree, even called him weak for crying,” du Plessis pointed out. “He did the same thing, just on a bigger stage.”
Du Plessis finds Strickland amusing. But the hypocrisy? That’s where he loses respect. “He’s always unapologetically himself. But when he got a taste of his own medicine, he played the victim. He wanted sympathy. He can’t do that after the things he’s said.”
Du Plessis wasn’t bothered by Strickland attacking him at UFC 296. He asked for it. “In South Africa, that’s a typical Friday night out,” he said. “People would be disappointed if that was the fight they saw in a bar.”
He never thought about pressing charges. “Live by the sword, die by the sword. If you’re looking for trouble and get it, don’t go crying to mama.”
As for this week, Strickland thinks it might be less explosive than expected. There will be another pre-fight press conference and a few faceoffs. But du Plessis is all business now. “I’ll be ready for whatever he tries,” he said. “I’m in the fight zone now. I’m here to win a world title. I’m not here to make jokes.”
UFC 297 is happening this Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.