Chris Curtis expects one other wild battle from Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.
Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) rematches middleweight champion Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) within the Feb. 8 headliner at Qudos Financial institution Area in Sydney. The principle card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Their first battle at UFC 297 led to a cut up choice, the place Du Plessis obtained the nod over Strickland to assert the 185-pound belt. Du Plessis misplaced his lone-career rematch towards Roberto Soldic, the place after ending him by TKO to win the KSW welterweight title, he misplaced their second battle by knockout.
“Preventing Dricus is like combating a coked-out chimpanzee in a telephone sales space,” Curtis informed MMA Junkie. “You’re identical to, what’s occurring? However I feel it’s actually overwhelming and stunning for guys since you’re like, who fights like this? What are you doing? And the dude is simply out of his thoughts, attempting to win.
“I respect that, however I really feel like stylistically, within the second battle, if you type of know what to anticipate and also you perceive that he’s dancing to his personal tune, I ponder how that goes, as a result of his solely rematch with Soldic, he misplaced. Yeah, that’s years in the past, however I type of assume it’s type of telling to the place as soon as guys determine that out, you study what to search for. I feel it turns into a special battle.”
Curtis understands that the identical applies to Strickland, the place Du Plessis may choose up on his tendencies.
“It’s simply going to be such a bizarre battle,” Curtis stated. “It’s going to be coked-out chimpanzees in a telephone sales space, and I need to see it. I imagine in Sean, he’s one of many hardest-working dudes I’ve ever met. I feel he can do it, I’m pulling for him, however on the finish of the day, I simply type of need to see this occur as a result of actually, it’s probably the most high-level circus battle you’ll ever see.”
Curtis and Strickland just lately patched issues up after the 2 mates fell out over a social media spat. All is nice proper now, however Curtis, who meets Roman Kopylov on Saturday’s UFC Struggle Night time 249 card on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+), admitted he wouldn’t be stunned if it occurred once more.
“I’ve by no means left the fitness center, me and Sean battle lots,” Curtis stated. “If you’ve recognized any person for that lengthy, you’re going to have some friction. Particularly when you realize any person that lengthy, you know the way to get underneath one another’s pores and skin. We’ve had phrases, we’ve had fistfights on a number of events.
“It’s at all times going to be that approach. We’re very completely different personalities, we’re very completely different beliefs and bounds. We’ve each crossed these boundaries much more than most individuals. So, it’s going to occur. It’s simply part of the sport.”
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