Jon Anik, like the rest of the MMA community, has seen the heat between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis reach a boiling point ahead of their middleweight championship bout.
The rivals headline UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday, with Strickland putting his title on the line for the first time since capturing it against Israel Adesanya this past September.
While the rivalry between Strickland and du Plessis — depending on who you ask — has perhaps reached uncomfortable places, Anik believes there’s a difference between verbal and physical altercations in fight builds. The lead to Strickland vs. du Plessis has featured both, however, from the pre-fight press conference in December to their brawl at UFC 296.
“It’s hard when it comes to the words versus the action,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “There’s two different conversations: As far as the words and perpetual line-crossers like Colby Covington, I don’t know where the line is then. Sometimes I lose sight of some of the trash talk over the years that has actually crossed that line. In terms of the action, one example that I pointed to when Jeremy Stephens pushed Drakkar Klose into a concussion. Unassuming Drakkar Klose, hands behind his back, right?
“[Then] in slides those situations like the Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis in-the-crowd action. Those are far more dangerous and potentially devastating to me. In terms of the underbelly and the preamble leading up to UFC 297, will we repurpose that in-the-crowd altercation between the two? I would imagine the UFC would repurpose that, but [it’s not always the lead talking point] because [fans are] so excited about the matchup and what these guys bring to the table.
“Obviously, they both have value on a microphone, and they do, but I guess I’m not the most sensitive guy in the world when it comes to the words. A lot of people have taken stances in terms of that line, and we should keep wives and families out of it, and I’d be lying if I said that I think there absolutely needs to be some promotional line drawn. I just don’t know that words affect me as much as actions like a Jeremy Stephens push.”
The in-crowd skirmish between Strickland and du Plessis occurred after both men were shown at UFC 296 sitting oddly close to one another, a seating arrangement UFC CEO Dana White took full responsibility for. Mean words and bringing up the dark pasts of opponents are one thing, but fights in the crowd during a live event is another — although, luckily, nobody was hurt during the brawl.
For Anik, it’s tough to point to precedent, or anything else to compare it to, since it is essentially a unicorn-type situation.
“You can’t always serve all masters, but I guess in one pocket of the population, it doesn’t help us,” Anik explained. “But that is so not the norm. How often has that happened? Never. Between two guys who are about to fight a pay-per-view prior? It just doesn’t happen.
“Now, I can go to a hockey game and wonder aloud why all these people aren’t buying UFC tickets because they don’t get excited until the guys f****** fight. They don’t care when they score a goal, but all of a sudden, No. 9 starts pounding away and everybody’s going crazy. So, it is what it is, but I do think that those visuals are somewhat of an inconvenient truth now in the lead-up to this fight, because a lot of people are going to be talking about it.”
Du Plessis has been on a roll heading into his first UFC title opportunity, entering the bout on an eight-fight win streak, including six UFC wins. Du Plessis opened many eyes with a sensational second-round knockout of former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
The big question on Strickland’s side is whether he can keep his emotions in check. Can Strickland take what du Plessis has said about him and his past — along with what else could come from the challenger during fight week — and channel those emotions into smart and unemotional decision-making?
Anik says that while that answer remains to be seen on Saturday, Strickland has already proven that he can come through when the pressure is at its highest point.
“I think he’s a guy that can channel any emotion that accompanies this Dricus du Plessis rivalry in the right way,” Anik said of Strickland. “I don’t worry about him come Jan. 20 in Toronto, whatsoever. I felt like the harder time to survive and advance under the bright lights would have been in Sydney facing Israel Adesanya, and he was just completely locked in from moment one. I think I’ve said over the last two weeks several times, it’s a telling visual when you’re sitting there as a UFC commentator awaiting the champion, and the challenger is pacing or doing whatever he or she is doing in the octagon. And Sean Strickland was ready to go, so I’m excited about the fight.
“I think Dricus du Plessis is a little bit misunderstood. He’s just kind of a truth-teller, and sometimes his words maybe get spun a little bit, but I don’t think there’s really much of a bad bone in his body, but he certainly talks the talk, and man, has he walked the walk. Singularly, his win over Robert Whittaker last summer was as big as any in any division last year. So, dude, it’s a hell of a main event.”
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