“I had so much more to go,” Dricus Du Plessis claims having done ‘homework’ to gain mental edge on Sean Strickland before heated press conference

Dricus Du Plessis on how he got under Sean Strickland's skin at UFC 296.

“I had so much more to go,” Dricus Du Plessis claims having done ‘homework’ to gain mental edge on Sean Strickland before heated press conference

Dricus Du Plessis reveals preparing to gain mental edge over Sean Strickland at the UFC seasonal press conference (via IMAGO)

The hype for the fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis just got huge as the duo was involved in a scuffle at the UFC 296 event. What triggered it was the words exchanged between them during the UFC seasonal press conference. As such, Du Plessis joked about Strickland’s childhood trauma and this hit a nerve in Strickland. Soon, bad blood started boiling between them. Now, ‘Stillknocks’ spoke about the press conference incident.

Dricus Du Plessis in his recent interview looked back on the verbal exchange he had with Sean Strickland at the UFC seasonal pressers. He acknowledged fighting to be a mental game and did his homework to gain an edge over Strickland.

YouTube video

As such, he mentioned Strickland to be hard to crack. However, the first thing Du Plessis said about him and his father triggered a much-needed response from him. So, this surprised ‘Stillknocks’. Further, he revealed having a lot more to say to his opponent.

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This whole fight thing is a mental game for me...He (Sean Strickland) looks like a guy that he’s not gonna be easy to freak because he dishes it out. The first thing I said [did it], and that was only the beginning. He’s so glad it was the end, I had so much more to go.
Dricus Du Plessis (Via The Coach and the Casual)

At the UFC seasonal press conference, Dricus Du Plessis went after Sean Strickland unapologetically. Although it was Strickland who started the verbal war, it was ‘Stillknocks’ who finished it. He remarked about Strickland’s father abusing him and soon drew a dramatic response from the middleweight champion. This further ignited the heat for the brawl they had at the crowd of UFC 296.

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis go into action next year at UFC 297. With the recent altercations between them, this fight became one of the most anticipated ones in the UFC. Both the fighters would be coming off spectacular upset wins over former champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker respectively. As such, the excitement for their fight went off the charts among the fans.

Dricus Du Plessis sheds light on what happened during his brawl with Sean Strickland at UFC 296

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis made the headlines long before their fight. They were involved in a public brawl at the T-Mobile arena when UFC 296 was live. Both the middleweights made their way to witness the spectacular year-end card of the UFC.

However, they unexpectedly found themselves seated close to each other. As such, it didn’t take much for them to get physical. Now, Du Plessis shared his side of the story.

Dricus Du Plessis looks back on his brawl with Sean Strickland during UFC 296
Dricus Du Plessis looks back on his brawl with Sean Strickland during UFC 296 (via YouTube)

In a recent interview, Dricus Du Plessis stated it was his first time being seated octagon side. As such, he found himself just a couple of rows behind his opponent Sean Strickland. Immediately, ‘Stillknocks’ got mentally prepared for whatever was to come. As such, Du Plessis mentioned Strickland jumping on him after a few words were said. Further, he explained the situation to be deranged as the crowd seated near them was cheering. 

We were looking at each other, he said something, I said something. And it was almost like, okay, that’s the end of the storm. And I turned, still looking at him, and he turned ... and then he just jumped. I thought it was over, and he just jumped. Here we go.
Dricus Du Plessis (Via The Coach and the Casual)

The brawl between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis caused a lot of confusion at the UFC 296. However, the UFC security resolved the issues quickly. Later, UFC CEO Dana White took the blame for the incident as he was the one responsible for the seating placements. But this unexpected incident just increased the hype surrounding their fight. They would meet inside the octagon in January 2024 at UFC 297.

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