Strickland downplayed it as an issue when asked at the pre-fight press conference, but it has since been revealed that he had a case of the virus several weeks prior to UFC 312. That was just one of the problems he had to navigate throughout training camp, because Strickland said he also experienced an arm injury that he described as a break.

Midway through the UFC 312 headliner, du Plessis left Strickland’s face a bloody mess as he landed a diverse set of attacks. One punch landed square to Strickland’s nose, which broke it and left Strickland breathing out of his mouth for the remainder of the fight.