The unexpected skirmish between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland stole the spotlight at UFC 296.
This incident happened before their upcoming clash at UFC 297 in January. Their cage-side brawl became the talk of the town following the pay-per-view event last weekend.
During the 2024 Season press conference aimed at fueling anticipation for their upcoming title match, du Plessis and Strickland engaged in a week-long exchange of family-themed verbal jabs. Tensions escalated unexpectedly when Strickland reacted vehemently when Du Plessis talked about sensitive topics related to Strickland’s past struggles with abuse.
The day following the press conference, UFC 296 saw the two middleweights seated only two rows apart in the audience. A mere spark was enough to ignite a brawl between the adversaries.
Sean Strickland was seated next to featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and his Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher Craig Jones when the latter leapt on Dricus du Plessis.
Recently, Jones provided a detailed account of the incident where he described the dramatic scuffle. He said on his YouTube channel:
“They’re obviously holding Strickland’s arm, so Dricus ends up on top. I swear to God this motherf***er went for a Mike Tyson ear bite! He just tries to bite his ear as they get separated. In the moment I was like, ‘Am I imagining this?’ And then I’ve tried to find footage since, and I can’t see it clearly. But from the angle I was sitting at, I was like., ‘I swear this motherf***er just tried to bite him.'”
After UFC 296’s conclusion, CEO Dana White addressed the media. Admitting responsibility for the seating mishap, White expressed:
“So what kind of an a**hole sits Strickland next to Du Plessis?” White said. “This a**hole, that’s who. I do every seating assignment every week. How f***ing stupid is that? I mean seriously. Well, I don’t know what humans you can sit Strickland next to, but definitely not Dricus du Plessis. I don’t even know how I missed that.”