Bookmakers made Sean Strickland a favourite against Dricus Du Plessis when they meet in their bout on Saturday 20th January 2024 at UFC 297.
He is currently 16/25 (-160) to win the bout outright, while you can get 5/4 (+130) on Dricus Du Plessis if you fancy the small upset.
That means that oddsmakers think there is 58% chance of Strickland winning while giving Plessis a 42% chance.
Strickland opened as the favourite at 4/6 (-150).
Plessis opened at 5/4 (+130).
The fight is scheduled for 5 rounds in the Middleweight division, which means both fighters will have to make the weight limit of 185 pounds (12.95 stones or 84.09 KG) on the day of the weigh-in.
This contest is for the UFC middleweight championship.
Full UFC 297 Odds
Main Events
Sean Strickland is currently 16/25 (-160) to beat Dricus Du Plessis, while Plessis is currently 5/4 (+130) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Mayra Bueno Silva is made a favourite at 1/2 (-200) to come out the victor in a fight against Raquel Pennington, while Pennington is currently 6/4 (+150) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Main Card
Movsar Evloev sits at 1/2 (-200) to win against Arnold Allen, while Allen is currently 6/4 (+150) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Mike Malott is marked at 1/3 (-300) to be victorious against Neil Magny, while Magny is currently 12/5 (+240) to win if you fancy the upset.
Aleksandar Rakic is currently 8/15 (-190) to defeat Jan Blachowicz, while Blachowicz is currently 13/8 (+160) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Prelims
Brad Katona is made a favourite at 4/7 (-180) to beat Garrett Armfield, while Armfield is currently 11/8 (+140) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Gillian Robertson sits at 4/6 (-150) to come out the victor in a fight against Polyana Viana, while Viana is currently 11/10 (+110) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Serhiy Sidey is marked at 8/15 (-190) to win against Ramon Taveras, while Taveras is currently 7/5 (+140) to win if you fancy the small upset.
Chris Curtis is currently 8/11 (-140) to be victorious against Marc Andr Barriault, while Barriault is currently 11/10 (+110) to win if you fancy the slight upset.
Malcolm Gordon is made a favourite at 5/6 (-120) to defeat Jimmy Flick, while Flick is currently 10/11 (-110) to win if you fancy the slight upset.
Yohan Lainesse sits at 4/5 (-130) to beat Sam Patterson, while Patterson is currently 20/21 (-110) to win if you fancy the slight upset.
Charles Jourdain is marked at 5/6 (-120) to come out the victor in a fight against Sean Woodson, while Woodson is currently 10/11 (-110) to win if you fancy the slight upset.
Carlos Ulberg is currently 4/9 (-230) to win against Dominick Reyes, while Reyes is currently 7/4 (+180) to win if you fancy the upset.
Strickland vs Plessis Head To Head
Sean Strickland steps into the octagon with a record of 28 wins, 5 loses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.
Dricus Du Plessis will make his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws, with 9 of those wins by knock out and 10 by submission.
The stats suggest Plessis has a slight advantage in power over Strickland, with a 45% knock out percentage over Strickland's 39%.
Sean Strickland is the older man by 3 years, at 32 years old.
Strickland is the more experienced professional fighter, having had 11 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 5 years and 4 months earlier than Plessis, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He has fought 42 more professional rounds, 84 to Plessis' 42.
Strickland vs Plessis betting form
Strickland has beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.
In his last fight, he won against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on 9th September 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.
Previous to that, he had won against Abusupiyan Magomedov at UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov on 1st July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.
Going into that contest, he had beat Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night: Gastelum vs. Imavov on 14th January 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest.
Before that, he had been beaten by Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland on 17th December 2022 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.
He had lost to Alex Pereira at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Plessis has won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3 of them, going the distance twice.
In his last fight, he defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on 8th July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.
Previous to that, he had defeated Derek Brunson at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Going into that contest, he had won against Darren Till at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by submission in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Before that, he had defeated Brad Tavares at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
He had beat Trevin Giles at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Who's been more active?
In terms of recent activity, Sean Strickland has been fighting more than Dricus Du Plessis.
Sean Strickland last fought 2 months and 24 days ago, while Dricus Du Plessis' last outing was 4 months and 25 days ago.
Strickland's last 5 fights have come over a period of 1 year, 5 months and 1 day, meaning he has been fighting on average every 3 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 3.6 rounds on average.
Plessis' last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 23 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 5 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 2.4 rounds on average.
