The middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, and his opponent for UFC 297, Dricus Du Plessis, are having one hell of a rivalry coming into the fight. It started off really respectful. However, things quickly escalated as the title challenger brought up the champion’s childhood trauma to get into his head in the seasonal press conference. Things only went downhill from there.

The two middleweights would go on to have a brawl outside of the octagon at UFC 296, this past December. But this wasn’t a surprise given Strickland’s personality and a very questionable but “unintentional” seating arrangement set by the UFC. ‘Tarzan’ revealed that he DM’d ‘Stillknocks’ after the scuffle, setting some boundaries and threatening to stab him if he crosses it. The South African, revealed in a press conference what Strickland actually said to him in the messages.

Du Plessis addresses the messages from Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis in the press conference revealed what Strickland had told him. The South African humorously told Strickland’s team to keep him in check. He then went on to state what Strickland had told him, saying, “He said ‘if you do that again’ he said he will kill me. He didn’t say stab me. When he said kill, I said OK, you’re probably going to shoot me then.”

However, ‘StillKnocks’ claimed to have laughed it off when he realized Strickland actually wanted to stab him. He told the media, “But when I saw a knife, I’m like no, that’s not going to work. You won’t touch me with that knife. I’ll knock you out way before you get to stab me.”

Dricus Du Plessis claimed that he wasn’t afraid of Strickland’s threat but was rather worried that he would sabotage the fight. He went on to say, “Am I scared that he self-sabotages this fight? Sure. That is something I’ve thought about, maybe trying everything to get out of it. But no, no, no. For me right now, the last press conference was winning on the mic. I was winning Sean Strickland at his own game. Right now, this week where we at, I’m not here to do that. I’m here to be the middleweight champion of the world.”

The 30-year-old is currently focused on his fight this coming Saturday and claims that his mind and body are in the best shape ever coming into his fight against Strickland. But how is Strickland’s mindset coming into the fight?

Eric Nicksick’s message to Strickland after the fight

During an interview on “Weighing in” with John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, Eric Nicksick revealed what he said to the middleweight champ after the scuffle outside the cage at UFC 296. The first question that Nicksick claims to ask Strickland is, “The whole thing went off, and the first thing I wrote him, I just text him like, “Did we win?”

However, Nicksick explained to Strickland that losing his composure is precisely what his opponent wants him to do. He emphasized to the middleweight champion the crucial role of maintaining a strong defense as a key element on their path to victory. He also mentioned the example of Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards to help explain the situation to Strickland.

Watch this Story: TW Watch: Sean Strickland Threatens To Stab Dricus Du Plessis if UFC Star Bring Up His Abusive Father in Trash Talk

Given that the two are just days away from fighting for the middleweight strap, who do you think will come out on top? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also Read: Sean Strickland’s Coach Accuses Dricus Du Plessis of Disruptive Intentions; Reveals Personal Text Message After Massive Brawl