Fans react as Sean Strickland breaks silence on Dricus du Plessis' claim of staph infection before UFC 312: "That crater on his arm says otherwise"

Sean Strickland recently addressed Dricus du Plessis claiming he's carrying a staph infection into their rematch, but it appears fans aren't convinced. Strickland asserted that he doesn't get sick and promised 'Stillknocks' a war this weekend.

Strickland and du Plessis will run it back at UFC 312 in Sydney this weekend. The South African previously beat Strickland at UFC 297 via a closely contested split decision to win the middleweight title. Ahead of their rematch, du Plessis has accused Strickland of having a staph infection. Given the discolored skin on Strickland's left arm, many believe 'Stillknocks' may be right.

At the UFC 312 pre-fight presser, Strickland dismissed du Plessis' claims and rubbished the staph rumors. He said:

"You see this f**king mustache? I give staph, I don’t f**king get staph... Calm the f**k down. I don’t get sick. I don’t get f*cking injured and I don’t get f*cking staph. So relax. I’m going to be out there on Sunday and I’m going to come out f*cking hard and strong. The hardest and strongest you’ve ever f**king seen. To the f**king death, Dutchman."

After @ChampRDS shared a clip from the presser on X, fans flocked to the comments section to express their reactions.

One fan wrote:

"That crater on his arm says otherwise."

Another fan wrote:

"They gotta stop giving this dude the mic."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @ChampRDS on X

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Sean Strickland uncharacteristically gives Dricus du Plessis "respect" ahead of UFC 312

Sean Strickland may share a fierce rivalry with Dricus du Plessis, but the American respects the South African fighter's fighting style. 'Tarzan' recently lauded du Plessis' willingness to give his all in the cage and praised him for going all out.

In an interview with Michael Bisping, Strickland compared du Plessis' fighting style to that of someone who rides "the short bus" and said:

"You know, man, let me say dude, I give respect to Dricus. Dude fights like he's on a short bus. He goes full send, man. I mean, he goes full send. I don't think he's the best fighter, but when you fight like you're on a short bus, you gotta kill that man to stop him. So, you know, I do give him respect there."

Catch Sean Strickland's comments below: