Before the public confrontation, Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis were opposing UFC middleweights scheduled to headline the promotion's early 2024 slate; their face-off occurred at the UFC seasonal press conference on December 15, 2023 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas [6]. During that exchange Du Plessis addressed Strickland directly and said, 'You think your dad beat the s*** out of you? Your dad doesn’t have s*** on me … every childhood memory you have is going to come back when I’m in there with you' [6]. That remark targeted Strickland’s documented history of childhood abuse and—according to Strickland’s later account on the This Past Weekend podcast—'crossed a line' that left him 'boiling' [1]. Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, later called that moment 'the gasoline that set the fire' for the subsequent crowd incident, indicating the press-conference exchange materially altered Strickland’s emotional state before the event [9]. The following evening, December 16, 2023, the fighters were shown seated near each other during the UFC 296 broadcast; UFC president Dana White later said he regretted assigning their seats together, acknowledging the proximity contributed to the confrontation [5]. Within minutes Strickland leapt over rows and attacked Du Plessis in the crowd; official video shows Strickland launching at Du Plessis and being pulled away by fans and security, an event widely circulated by broadcast and social clips [3][2]. Those two days—Dec. 15 and Dec. 16—constitute the origin of their public feud: a targeted personal provocation followed by an immediate, physical response [6][3][1].
As of February 8, 2025, the competitive phase of the dispute is current: Dricus Du Plessis retained the UFC middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney [8]. Neither fighter has issued a public, mutual reconciliation; Strickland has continued to describe the press-conference remarks as a personal provocation and publicly admitted biting Du Plessis during the UFC 296 brawl [1], while Du Plessis used the UFC 297 post-fight moment to call January 20, 2024 'the start of a new era' [7]. UFC leadership acknowledged the promotional role in the crowd incident by citing seating decisions, and Strickland’s coach confirmed the exchange changed fight preparation—indicating the matter remains active in both public narrative and competitive records [5][9].
From Strickland's viewpoint the dispute was a personal boundary violation: Dricus Du Plessis invoked Strickland’s documented childhood abuse at the Dec. 15, 2023 press conference, which Strickland later said 'crossed a line' and led to an emotional reaction the next day [6][1]. Strickland framed his UFC 296 response as a visceral, personal reaction rather than routine fight trash talk [1].
From Du Plessis' perspective the press-conference exchange was aggressive fight promotion within a heated face-off, and the in-cage outcomes (a title win and a successful defense) validated his approach competitively [6][7][8]. Du Plessis used the UFC 297 post-fight moment to describe the result as a new phase of his career [7].
The UFC viewed the episodes as both an operational failure (seating an antagonistic pair together) and a high-profile promotional narrative that culminated in title fights; UFC president Dana White publicly faulted his seating decision after the Dec. 16 crowd brawl [5]. The organization also provided official video documentation of the crowd incident and proceeded with the sanctioned bouts [3][7].
As of Feb. 8, 2025, the competitive rivalry continued with Du Plessis retaining the middleweight title at UFC 312; there is no widely reported public reconciliation between the fighters in the sources compiled here [8][7].
The public rift began when Du Plessis referenced Strickland’s childhood abuse at the UFC seasonal press conference on Dec. 15, 2023; that line is documented in UFC press materials and widely reported as the proximate provocation [6].
On Dec. 16, 2023 during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena, Sean Strickland leapt over rows of seats and attacked Dricus Du Plessis in the crowd; the incident is captured in an official UFC video and multiple broadcast/fan angles [3][2].
Yes. On the This Past Weekend podcast reported Jan. 2, 2024, Strickland said, 'I’m so happy they didn’t get it from a right angle – I bit him,' describing an action during the Dec. 16 crowd altercation that he said wasn’t fully visible on camera [1].
Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 297 on Jan. 20, 2024 (scorecards 48-47, 47-48, 48-47) and retained the middleweight title by unanimous decision in the rematch at UFC 312 on Feb. 8, 2025, according to event coverage [7][8].
Yes. UFC president Dana White publicly said on Dec. 17, 2023 that he blamed himself for seating Strickland next to Du Plessis, acknowledging the seating assignment contributed to the Dec. 16 confrontation [5].
Sources in the compiled research indicate no arrests were reported following the Dec. 16, 2023 crowd incident; the immediate public responses focused on ejection and organizational commentary rather than criminal charges [5][3].
Strickland cited his history of childhood abuse and said Du Plessis' Dec. 15, 2023 comment 'crossed a line,' framing his reaction as tied to personal trauma rather than standard fight trash talk; he and his coach later described that exchange as a catalyst for the crowd incident and emotional state heading into the title fight [1][9].