2 of the most polarising fighters in the UFC do battle in a rematch for the middleweight title in Sydney Australia in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Du Plessis was victorious when the last 2 met back at UFC 297 in January of last year, picking up his maiden UFC title in a razor-thin decision.

This bout is also a tough 1 to call, but we’re going to side with the fight going the full 5 rounds at odds of 1.57.

2 fighters who boast awkward styles, expect Dricus to push the pace with his head down, swinging style, with Strickland holding his patented ‘Philly Shell’ stance.

Former champion Israel Adesanya went on record praising the awkwardness of du Plessis’s style when the 2 met at UFC 305, a fight in which the South African made the first successful defence of his belt.

The original fight between du Plessis and Strickland is still up for debate in terms of accurate scoring, but it’s hard to see either getting a finish here with both boasting awkward styles.

The 2nd of 2 title fights for the Sydney crowd, as Chinese champion Zhang Weili takes on the still undefeated Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.

The pricing for this bout is interesting, granted Weili has proven to be a dominant champion in recent years and has been a stalwart of the women’s division.

Suarez is arguably the best female wrestler in the UFC, and the bookmakers have here priced at 4.50 to take this fight on the judges’ scorecards. That is value too good to pass on.

Many will point to Suarez’s 3.5-year layoff as a point of concern in the past, but she notched back-to-back submission wins over the likes of Montana de la Rosa and former champion Jessica Andrade in 2023.

Weili is the more dominant in the striking department for sure, but expect Suarez to push for the takedown from the off.

Once she gets Weili to the ground, it’s hard to see her finding her groove. After all, Suarez holds the record for the highest top position percentage in UFC women’s strawweight division history.

A hometown favourite on a bit of a losing run, Jimmy Crute faces Brazilian Rodolfo Bellato in this main card fight at 205 lbs.

Currently without a win in 4 fights (3 losses and 1 draw), this feels like a win-or-bust fight for the Aussie Crute.

Whilst Bellato only has 1 UFC fight to his name, a KO against Ukrainian Ihor Potieria back in December 2023, the former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion comes into this as the betting favourite at 1.67, and we’re taking the Brazilian to win on the nose here.

Grappling is the main asset at Crute’s disposal, and while only a small sample size, Bellato has a 100% takedown defense record in the UFC and Contender Series.

Meanwhile, seven of Bellato’s 12 wins have come by KO/TKO. On the feet is where he feels comfortable.

Crute has been without a win since 2020, and this feels like it could be the end of his UFC run against a dangerous Brazilian newcomer.