Dricus du Plessis claims he is ‘Ready to die’ in UFC 312 fight with Sean Strickland: ‘That’s why I’m champion’

Undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis claims he is “ready to die” in his title grudge fight with Sean Strickland this weekend at UFC 312 — claiming that exact readiness is the reason why he currently holds the gold at 185lbs.

du Plessis, the current undisputed middleweight champion — who is in the midst of an impressive unbeaten run since his Octagon landing five years ago, headlines the promotion’s return to Sydney this weekend in a grudge re-run with ex-champion, Strickland.

Sidelined since last summer, Pretoria native, du Plessis most recently lodged the first successful defense of the middleweight crown with a stunning fourth round face crank submission over recent UFC Saudi Arabia headliner, Israel Adesanya.

And winning the above-mentioned title in January of last year — in less than clear cut circumstances, nabbing a close, split decision win over arch-nemesis, Strickland.

Dricus du Plessis claims he’s “ready to die” against Sean Strickland at UFC 312

Ahead of the pairing this weekend with the outspoken former champion, du Plessis has boldly claimed he is both ready to “die” and to “kill” against the former this weekend ‘Downunder’ at UFC 312.

“You have to be willing to die when you get in there [the Octagon],” Dricus du Plessis told Mark Bouris during a recent interview. “That’s true. You have to. But that’s a minimum requirement. The harder part is can you kill a man when you have to? Yes, I can. So I’m willing to die. And I mean, like, yeah, you know that I know that when I go in there. If there’s no ref, the ref doesn’t stop it. I’m not stopping. I can be sitting on you for 10 minutes bashing your face. You know, if the ref doesn’t say stop, I’m not stopping.

New Straight Talk with UFC champ @dricusduplessis is dropping at 8 pm AEDT tonight!

We discussed his upcoming battle with Sean Strickland, his journey to the top, what defines an elite champion, Alex Pereira being a conerman for his opponent, his GOAT list, what’s next for him… pic.twitter.com/ncgmjaHayG

— Mark Bouris (@markbouris) February 3, 2025

“And that is the question that me, as a modern day gladiator has to ask myself, am I still willing to die? Absolutely,” Dricus du Plessis explained. “That’s easy It’s are you willing to kill a man in front of his family? Yes, I am. And that’s why I’m the world champion. Because I say yes to that answer that question every single time.”