By The Numbers: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland’s sights are set on a prize that was once his.

The Xtreme Couture export will attempt to reclaim the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title when his rematch with Dricus Du Plessis headlines UFC 312 on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. Strickland surrendered the 185-pound crown in a contentious five-round split decision defeat to the South African a little more than a year ago. He enters their second encounter having won four of his past five bouts. Strickland last appeared at UFC 302, where he outdueled Paulo Costa to a split verdict on June 1. Du Plessis, meanwhile, finds himself in the midst of a career-defining 10-fight winning streak. He last saw action on Aug. 17, when he put away Israel Adesanya with a face crank in the fourth round of their UFC 305 main event.

As Du Plessis and Strickland move ever closer to their second encounter, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

31: Years of age for Du Plessis, who was born on Jan. 14, 1994 in Welkom, South Africa.

11: Du Plessis victories by submission, accounting for 50% of his career total (22). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, four guillotine chokes and two face cranks. Du Plessis holds nine other victories by knockout or technical knockout (41%) and two more by decision (9%).

13: Men other than Du Plessis who have laid claim to the undisputed UFC middleweight crown. Adesanya (twice), Strickland, Alex Pereira, Robert Whittaker, Georges St. Pierre, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Evan Tanner, Murilo Bustamante and Dave Menne complete the list.

3: Organizations for which Du Plessis has plied his mixed martial arts trade. In addition to the UFC, he has fought for Extreme Fighting Championship in South Africa and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki in Poland.

.750: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Garreth McLellan and Roberto Soldic—who have beaten Du Plessis. They sport a combined record of 33-11.

33: Years of age for Strickland, who was born in Anaheim, California, on Feb. 27, 1991.

11: Strickland wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 38% of his career total. His list of UFC victims: Abusupiyan Magomedov, Brendan Allen, Nordine Taleb and Alex Garcia. Strickland owns four other wins by submission (14%) and 14 more by decision (48%).

94: Rounds started by Strickland as a professional mixed martial artist. He has involved the judges on 18 different occasions and carries a 14-4 record in those bouts.

36: Significant strikes by which Strickland outlanded Du Plessis in their aforementioned first encounter. He connected with 173 of them while absorbing only 137 in return. Du Plessis made up the difference, at least on two of the three scorecards, by completing six takedowns and compiling more than two minutes of control time.

126: Combined victories between the six opponents—Du Plessis, Pereira, Jared Cannonier, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio—who have defeated Strickland. They boast a .796 cumulative winning percentage at 126-32-1.