Dricus Du Plessis asked about pressing charges against Sean Strickland after UFC 296 brawl

One month after the incident which saw Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis get involved in a heated altercation, more news has surfaced on the situation.

Although they’ve never been the best of friends, the relationship between the two middleweights grew sour after the UFC 2024 seasonal press conference. The pair went back and forth until a comment made about the champion’s well-documented childhood trauma understandably hit a nerve.

During a recent interview, Dricus Du Plessis recalled his brawl with Sean Strickland. While it shouldn’t have ever reached that point, the South African detailed why the two did come to blows.

“I took on his manliness, you know. I was in his face and I told him, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ And he stood up for himself. That’s what a real man does. I’m happy for him, I’m glad that he has that in him.”

“The way he hit, there were no cuts going to happen. I can feel that, tell you that, the way those shots landed… If you’re starting to really throw down and somebody thinks it’s fake punches, that sucks.”

‘Stillknocks’ then spoke on the immediate aftermath of their aforementioned fight at UFC 296. According to the title challenger, Strickland could have been in trouble with the authorities for assault.

“Dana came to me and said, ‘Listen, this is the case. Like, we’re really sorry about this.’ But obviously, the police had him [Strickland], and like charges can be pressed because that’s assault.”

Related: Sean Strickland’s attack on Dricus Du Plessis was pre-planned, claims UFC veteran

“They didn’t try to convince me otherwise, at all. They literally said, ‘Listen, if you feel like that was uncalled for, we completely understand if you want to press charges, take this further.’ And I said no, no, no. Please no. We are two fighters, I mean, it was a good old scrap like we did before we became professionals.”

“I just asked him, I would love to make sure, I would even take the blame if that’s possible, just to make sure that nothing happens to him… I just wanted to make sure that nothing happens that the fight’s in jeopardy.”

If all goes to plan, Dricus Du Plessis will be entering the octagon to compete for his first shot at UFC gold on January 20. Sean Strickland will be hoping to cement his reign as middleweight king by defending his throne when they collide as the headliner for UFC 297.

Check out what Du Plessis had to say about pressing charges on Strickland and more in the video below.