UFC 296: Tensions Flare As Brawl Breaks Out Between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, Video

• Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland had to be separated at UFC 296 after brawling with each other
• The South African and American MMA athletes will fight for the UFC's Middleweight strap in January 2024
• Tensions between Strickland and Du Plessis have been high since the press conference for UFC 297

Things are heating up between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

The South African Middleweight will take on the American champion at UFC 297 for the title, and bad blood is brewing between the two.

The animosity between the pair escalated at UFC 296 when a fight between them broke out in the audience.

Du Plessis and Strickland were both in the audience for the pay-per-view headlined by Colby Covington and Leon Edwards when the camera panned to them.

While everything seemed light-hearted between the pair initially, it escalated once the cameras moved on. Footage from the crowd showed the pair being separated after a fight between them.

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Strickland was later removed from the arena.

Du Plessis and Strickland’s heated face-off

It's not the first time the pair have had to be separated. Things got heated between du Plessis and Strickland at the press conference for UFC 297, and they had to be pulled apart during the face-off, MMA Junkie reported.

Things started off well between the pair at first, as they showed respect to each other, but it soon got nasty. It didn’t take long for Strickland to fire off profanities and insult the South African and his coach.

Stillknocks remained cool and calm and suggested that he would give Strickland a beating far worse than what his father did. The jibe seemingly hit a nerve with the champion, and he fired back at the South African, Cageside Press reported.

Du Plessis fires shot at Adesanya

In September, Sports Brief reported how du Plessis also fired shots at Nigerian fighter Israel Adesanya.

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The duo have been embroiled in a bitter rivalry for months and were due to settle their beef for the Middleweight belt.

Du Plessis was the number one ranked fighter in the division, while Adesanya was still the champion at that stage.