Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

UFC 18-7-0 vs. 10-1-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
18-7-0
UFC record
10-1-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
35
AgeΔ 3 yrs
32
6'1"
HeightΔ 0"
6'1"
76"
ReachΔ 0"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
3
Layoff (months)Δ 2.3 mo
0.7
WWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Sean Strickland outworks the Middleweight division — 5.98 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 norm.
Dricus Du Plessis outworks the Middleweight division — 5.21 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 norm.
Sean Strickland rarely shoots — 0.66 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Sean Strickland

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 187
Tier 3 — regional circuit 130

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.46 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.5 wins over .500

Dricus Du Plessis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 101
Tier 3 — regional circuit 142

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.56 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +7.5 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

24305.98/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
9065.21/min · norm 3.25
18424.53/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
7364.24/min · norm 3.20
42.5%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
48.9%norm 47.4%
60.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
54.1%norm 53.8%
70.26/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
40.35/15 · norm 0.32

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Sean Strickland

Distance 94.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 2.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 3.2% (norm 10.3%)

Dricus Du Plessis

Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 10.3%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Sean Strickland

Head 88.1% (norm 78.0%) · Body 9.1% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 2.8% (norm 8.4%)

Dricus Du Plessis

Head 75.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.0% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Strickland L/AAccMiddleweight med Plessis L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 2239 / 5415 41.3% 40.5% 767 / 1658 46.3% 40.5%
In the clinch 78 / 117 66.7% 70.3% 65 / 91 71.4% 70.3%
On the ground 113 / 185 61.1% 69.1% 74 / 102 72.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 1963 / 5036 39.0% 38.9% 559 / 1402 39.9% 38.9%
To the body 343 / 523 65.6% 71.7% 161 / 208 77.4% 71.7%
To the legs 124 / 158 78.5% 83.3% 186 / 241 77.2% 83.3%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Strickland L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Plessis L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1738 / 4517 38.5% 39.5% 672 / 1525 44.1% 39.5%
In the clinch 50 / 77 64.9% 70.9% 28 / 34 82.4% 70.9%
On the ground 54 / 87 62.1% 69.0% 36 / 45 80.0% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 769 / 3096 24.8% 37.9% 532 / 1332 39.9% 37.9%
To the body 631 / 1021 61.8% 71.3% 149 / 213 70.0% 71.3%
To the legs 442 / 564 78.4% 82.1% 55 / 59 93.2% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1862.1% acc · 0.66/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
2248.9% acc · 1.90/15 · norm 1.42
5368.8% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
1550.0% def · norm 63.1%
33:528.3% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
17:4010.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
26:290:58 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
27:422:23 per 15 · norm 3:00
40.15/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
70.60/15 · norm 0.47

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Strickland has more cage time on record.