How can Dricus Du Plessis edge past his nemesis Sean Strickland at UFC 312 this weekend? Their first dance of violence, of course, was a razor-thin contest and ended in a controversial split-decision victory for ‘DDP’. It proved to be the toughest fight of the South African’s UFC career, and Strickland’s Philly Shell fighting style was quite an uphill task for Du Plessis.

And Kamaru Usman feels that ‘DDP’ needs to take a leaf from his book on how to approach the Strickland rematch. Usman, of course, had fought and defeated Strickland back in 2017, when the American was still a welterweight, and broke down exactly why he was successful against ‘Tarzan’.

“I think Dricus does need to make a bit of an adjustment, as well. Because when I fought Sean Strickland and this was something that the coach, the great Henry Hooft [and I] were able to see and break down is- don’t try to hit his head. Don’t swing for his head. If we run this clip back you will see the exchanges where Dricus is, he’s trying to hit his head and you just can’t hit his head,” Usman told co-host Henry Cejudo on their ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast.

“Because when Sean is upright in his stance and he leans back, you just can’t land a flush shot at his head because of that style. It’s very very difficult to hit him in the face. So what we did is, we focused on his body, you know. I went to his body. But then obviously you mix it up and you go for the takedowns as well and that makes it a lot easier to get to a guy like Sean Strickland,” the former 170lbs kingpin added.

‘Tarzan’, as we have mentioned, has a very unorthodox, Philly Shell style, popularized by Floyd Mayweather, who was probably the hardest man to hit in the entire history of combat sports. And Strickland, who has an excellent understanding of range and keeps his chin behind his shoulder, is extremely difficult to hit on the head for the reasons Usman says.

Du Plessis, for instance, could only land 81 shots to ‘Tarzan’s head compared to the latter landing 157 in their first contest. But there is another, more important factor that Du Plessis thinks will come through for him against Strickland in Sydney this Saturday.

Dricus Du Plessis’ trump card for the Sean Strickland rematch

Dricus Du Plessis feels there is one thing that will make sure he beats Sean Strickland at UFC 312- his gladiatorial, kill-or-be-killed mindset. “That is the question that me, as a modern-day gladiator has to ask myself: Am I still willing to die? Absolutely. That’s easy. It is, are you willing to kill a man in front of his family? Yes, I am,” Du Plessis chillingly told ‘Submission Radio’ in a recent interview.

This is something that ‘DDP’ thinks Strickland lacks. In fact, the South African feels that Strickland, who had challenged him to a duel “to the death” in their first fight, is all talk and doesn’t deliver when the time comes. The champ pointed out that Strickland had gone to eight split decisions in his UFC career and felt that this clearly showed what type of fighter the American actually is.

Will this be enough to get Du Plessis’ hands raised this weekend? Probably. Fighting is, after all, as much mental as physical. And Du Plessis has both departments well and truly covered. Unfavorable fighting styles are things that can be overcome, as ‘DDP’ did in the first Strickland fight. But he could still benefit from Kamaru Usman’s advice. Who do you see winning this high-stakes rematch? Tell us in the comment section below!