Sean Strickland attempted a Mike Tyson-esque ear bite during Dricus Du Plessis brawl, according to Craig Jones

As if the brawl involving Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 296 wasn’t wild enough, a close spectator has made some even crazier revelations about the encounter.

The UFC’s final event of the year saw numerous stars take center stage. Leon Edwards and Alexandre Pantoja defended their titles, Bryce Mitchell suffered one of the most terrifying knockouts in recent history, and Paddy Pimblett continued his unbeaten run inside the octagon, but arguably neither of those was the main talking point when the dust settled.

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis got into a fight cage-side and had to be separated by security, with video footage showing the crazy altercation. BJJ star Craig Jones was up close and personal to the exchange and has revealed some wild truths about exactly what happened.

“His immediate presence was already f***ing pretty chaotic,” Jones said about Strickland in a recent episode of the El Segundo Podcast. “Strickland basically turns around and Dricus is there, showing them face-off. Strickland’s pretending to shoot him and they start going back and forth.”

“Sean asked Gilbert [Burns] to get his wife and kids out of the way. Super polite, super polite… And then just pounces on Dricus and starts throwing some 12-to-6 elbows and sh*t. And the whole time I’m just in disbelief of what’s happening.”

“Allegedly, during this scramble, they’re obviously holding Strickland’s arms, Dricus ends up on top. I swear to god this motherf***er went for a Mike Tyson ear bite. He’s like, just f***ing tries to bite his ear as they get separated.”

“In the moment I’m like, ‘Am I imagining this?’ And then I’ve tried to find footage since and I can’t see it. I can’t see it clearly. But from the angle I was sitting, I swear this motherf***er just tried to bite it. And then they separated it, obviously, Vegas police came in.”

Craig Jones gives his take on why he believes things got sour between the two middleweights. Dating back to their press conference, Dricus Du Plessis said something that could have gotten under Sean Strickland’s skin.

Related: Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis come to blows in UFC 296 crowd

“I guess what he said at the press conference was very provocative. I felt like what really provoked Strickland as well was when he was like, basically saying something that is true, ‘Hey, you’re a one-and-one guy.’ It’s like the Cinderella story, it’s like a Rocky Balboa moment.”

“He got a title shot [that] he really didn’t earn. Took full advantage of it, you know. And I felt like when Dricus said that to him, I felt like that actually really bothered him because obviously there is a bit of truth to that. “

Check out everything Craig Jones had to say on the Strickland/Du Plessis situation and more in the video below.