UFC 296 video: Sean Strickland leaps over seats to brawl with Dricus Du Plessis
17/12/2023 05:46
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis aren't waiting for UFC 297.
The middleweight stars are set to meet in the upcoming Jan. 20 main event, with Strickland defending his UFC title against Du Plessis, but they came face-to-face at UFC 296 in Las Vegas on Saturday and apparently they decided to throw down a month early.
Strickland and Du Plessis were shown seated near each other on the ESPN+ pay-per-view broadcast and moments after the camera cut away from the fighters, Strickland lunged at Du Plessis.
See video from the incident below.
@RobbieBarstoolpic.twitter.com/7BJ7cfrput
— JoshIsner (@JoshIsner) December 17, 2023
Watch more footage of the encounter from T-Mobile Arena below.
The best angle of DDP vs Strickland just dropped #UFC296@SpinninBackfistpic.twitter.com/2vL9EieMA7
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 17, 2023
Sean Strickland and Du Plessis going at it #ufc296@ufcpic.twitter.com/1eFMnqq1oZ
— rachel (@ograchelmarie) December 17, 2023
DDP & STRICKLAND JUST GOT INTO A FIGHT CAGESIDE #UFC296pic.twitter.com/Pt8FWNMMtR
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 17, 2023
HOLY CRAP SEAN STRICKLAND AND DRICUS DU PLESSIS GOT INTO IT!!! Had to be separated #UFC296pic.twitter.com/igZclEMwp5
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) December 17, 2023
It appears Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis had to be seperated in the crowd @chitoveraUFC was loving it #UFC296pic.twitter.com/m1oYNnQqGk
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 17, 2023
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis got into after the Paddy vs Tony fight. What an event #UFC296pic.twitter.com/ztUsaNe7Iu
— Cowboy Cotton (@dmon_theboss) December 17, 2023
In the video above, Strickland can be seen asking people in the crowd to move out of the way so that he can have a clear shot at Du Plessis. He then launches himself at Du Plessis and starts throwing punches before getting lost in a sea of bodies working to keep the fighters apart.
Other UFC stars can be seen attempting to get a better view, including champions Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski, and No. 1 bantamweight contender Marlon "Chito" Vera.
The brief scrap was also mentioned by the UFC 296 commentary team and Strickland was reportedly ejected from the arena by security.
MMA Fighting reached out to Strickland's representation for comment, but a response is yet to be provided.