With both fighters being deceptively difficult to kill, their first encounter back at UFC 297 ended up being a tactical, back-and-forth battle that saw Du Plessis narrowly scrape out a split decision win on the scorecards to become the new champion at 185 pounds.

This is the second title defense for the 31-year-old Du Plessis (22-2), a -210 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook. He defeated Israel Adesanya with a fourth-round submission Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia.

Sean Strickland went off the rails as he responded to an Australian newspaper’s plea to Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland faces du Plessis this Sunday in the main event of UFC 312 in Sydney,