Eric Nicksick thinks pace will be the determining factor in UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s fight vs. Dricus Du Plessis.

Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) makes his first title defense against Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 297 main event Jan. 20 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Du Plessis is known to fight with a crazy pace, which he used to finish former champion Robert Whittaker by TKO at UFC 290. But as the rounds go, Nicksick expects Strickland to get into a flow state, which will overwhelm Du Plessis.

“I think it’s going to be a matter of setting a precedent on the pace,” Nicksick told Inside Fighting. “I feel like Dricus is going to come out hard, heavy and fast right away, and we’re going to have to manage that pace in the first couple of rounds. Once Sean gets into the fight, I think that’s when Sean’s really going to be able to take over. I expect it to be a barnburner. Both of these guys are right where they belong.”

Strickland pulled off a massive upset to claim the middleweight title when he dropped and outstruck Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. Dethroning middleweight great Adesanya was against the odds, but Nicksick sees Du Plessis as the toughest challenge yet for one reason.

“I was always told by Randy (Couture) and something I always look at is the hardest fight of your career is your first title defense,” Nicksick. “It’s going to be up to us to make sure we’re on our Ps and Qs and go out there and defend this belt.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.