Aljamain Sterling has a prediction for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis.
Strickland is set to make his first UFC middleweight title defense against Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 297. The action will be held inside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Many have wondered how this one will play out, as both men have awkward fighting styles, but Sterling feels one of them is more crisp with the striking game.
Aljamain Sterling On Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis
In a new video posted on his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling gave a breakdown of the UFC 297 main event title fight. “Funk Master” can’t help but take note of how “off” Du Plessis looks in the standup.
“I like Du Plessis, but if I have to be honest, technically from a striking standpoint he’s like the guy who’s not the most cleanest that keeps on winning,” Sterling said. “It’s the most ridiculous thing in the sense of like this is why you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s just about the results with our sport ’cause you’re not gonna see someone hit a jump shot and do all kinds of crazy sh*t and it goes in all the time, right? But Du Plessis is the guy who will throw these punches at these odd angles and it will clip you and it will put you down, and you think the punch won’t do anything, but that’s just what he does.”
Sterling went on to say he thinks Du Plessis’ grappling is better than his striking. He feels Du Plessis didn’t have a great start in his last fight against Robert Whittaker before he landed the punch that turned things around.
“I feel like Du Plessis looks robotic, he looks stiff, it looks forced, it looks muscular and dangerous but it doesn’t look as crisp,” Sterling said.
As far as Strickland’s game goes, Sterling appears to be a fan.
“I think Strickland’s got the goods where his style, walking you down, constantly in your face, that’s a hard person to stop,” Sterling said.
Ultimately, Aljamain Sterling is expecting a competitive fight, but he thinks Sean Strickland will walk out as the winner.
“I just think Sean just has a little bit more tools, doesn’t get tired, walks you down, forward pressure, it’s the biggest moment of Du Plessis’ career,” Sterling said. “Sean has been here before. I’m taking Sean by decision real decision. I think Sea’s gonna win by decision “
Here is the full video:
