“I swear to God, this motherf—– went for a Mike Tyson ear bite!” Jon Jones exclaimed while attending UFC 296. And while Jones loves a good fight build-up and all the chaos that comes with it, even he knew this was something else. Not exactly your typical fight in the promotion. But then again, Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis aren’t your typical fighters. Their rivalry took an unexpected turn at UFC 296, not in the Octagon, but in the crowd. They turned a high-profile event into an unsanctioned street fight. And as it turns out, the UFC brass wasn’t exactly amused.

In a recent interview, the South African revealed that Dana White and Hunter Campbell were outraged by the incident, calling it “assault” and even offering him the chance to press charges. Speaking on the OverDogs Podcast, du Plessis recalled, “Dana and Hunter came over to our seats with police and security all around. They told me, ‘This was 100% assault. You have the right to press charges against Sean Strickland.’” But instead of outrage, the South African champion was almost amused. Shrugging off the UFC brass’s serious stance, he simply laughed, brushing it off as nothing more than a “good old Friday night,” an unexpectedly casual take on what others saw as a full-blown brawl.

For those who missed it, here’s what went down. During UFC 296, the promotion aired a hype package for ‘Stillknocks’ and Strickland’s then-upcoming UFC 297 fight. The crowd cam showed Strickland, du Plessis poking fun at him two seats behind. That was all the fuel Strickland needed as he launched himself over rows of seats and started swinging. Security had to step in, the UFC boss had to play peacemaker, and somewhere in the chaos, Strickland apparently got a mouthful of du Plessis’ hair. According to the reigning champ, Strickland wasn’t himself. “He definitely looked dazed, but I honestly think maybe he hit his head on the cement, maybe on a chair—I’m not sure.”

The fight camp tensions had already been simmering since their face-off at the 2024 Seasonal Press Conference, but no one expected things to explode in the crowd. But here’s where things get even wilder, Strickland swears this wasn’t just a seating mishap.

Did Sean Strickland’s accusation corner the UFC?

‘Tarzan’ thinks the UFC set it up. “I think the UFC set that up, by the way,” he told ESPN MMA. And in true Strickland fashion, he almost took things way further. “I grab this dude’s head, and I think I even got a little hair in my mouth. There was a moment where I was about to take a f—— chunk from him, and I was like, ‘Sean, you can’t come back from this.’” Imagine making UFC history, not for a knockout, but for attempted cannibalism.

UFC head honcho, however, admitted the UFC botched the seating arrangements, sort of. “So what kind of an a—— sits Strickland next to du Plessis?”, White said. “This a——, that’s who. I do every seating assignment every week. How f—— stupid is that?” If the UFC orchestrated this, they clearly didn’t think it through, or at least, that’s what Dana White claimed after the dust settled.

But Strickland isn’t buying it. He believes the UFC knew exactly what they were doing. And honestly? With the hype their brawl has generated, he might have a point. The UFC thrives on rivalries and this one? It’s as personal as it gets. When these two finally met inside the Octagon at UFC 297, Strickland lost his title without even defending in the span of an evening, without clocking in one title defense. He suffered a decision loss to the South African. A result he claims to be a “robbery,” after losing vision due to blood flowing from a cut above his eye.

Now, with UFC 312 just hours away, this fight isn’t just about the middleweight belt—it’s about unfinished business. And judging by what went down at UFC 296, don’t be surprised if security earns some overtime tonight. What do you think? Will it be a clean fight that sticks to the rules, or are old grudges bound to resurface? Let us know in the comments below!