UFC champion Dricus du Plessis shifts pressure to Sean Strickland

The South African will look to defend his title for a second time against the American at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, after dethroning him in January last year in Toronto, Canada to take over the division. 

This re-match has been much awaited and will be another fight in which Du Plessis hopes to retain his belt, having already done so against Israel Adesanya six months ago, and he feels Strickland is the one who faces pressure to outdo him.

"I did the right things to win that fight. He is going to make adjustments to be better, and I have to do the same thing – it's not that I have to do anything different, I just have to do whatever I have been doing better," said du Plessis.

"I've had a year now to improve on that performance, become cleaner, fitter, stronger, and in terms of strength, that's not a problem. It's just being cleaner, picking my shots better, being more patient [because] this is not my first UFC title fight anymore.

"I know I can push that pace for five rounds, so that changes my dynamic, but I'm not going into this fight thinking it's the same fight as the first one – he's got to make the adjustments, he knows what it's like in there with me, just like I know what he's doing.

"His team is incredible, he has an incredibly good coach, Coach Eric [Nicksick] is very well respected and I have the world's respect for him, I know he's a master at the game-plan and figuring it out, but so are my coaches and my team.

"So it's very similar in fight because we both now know [what to expect], and how much could have really changed? It's just about being cleaner and better at everything."

READ: Dricus du Plessis ready to enter "that dark place" in UFC title defence