"I don't want to hurt a child" - Sean Strickland reflects on decision to move Gilbert Burns' wife and son aside before the UFC 296 brawl

Sean Strickland is set to defend his middleweight title for the first time when he faces Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 this weekend. The pair were previously involved in an altercation in the crowd at UFC 296 after the No.2-ranked middleweight made comments about the abuse the middleweight champion suffered at the hands of his father as a child. Prior to attacking 'Stillknocks', 'Tarzan' was seen asking the family of Gilbert Burns to move.

Speaking to Megan Olivi of ESPN MMA, Strickland explained that decision, stating:

"Well, yeah, that's inappropriate. If I want to kill a man, I don't want to hurt a child."

Olivi responded that nobody was expecting him to jump over the chair, prompting the middleweight champion to respond:

"I mean, how do you not expect me to? I literally tell you guys all day long that there's been situations in my life where I've almost murdered a man and you guys think I'm joking? I tell you guys, I tell the UFC, I tell the fans, 'listen guys, I don't like to leave my house because I put myself in altercations and at a pinch, I might murder somebody and I don't want to lose my life'."

Check out Sean Strickland's comments on asking Gilbert Burns' family to move below (starting at the 17:47 mark):

Strickland added that during the altercation, he considered biting du Plessis in the way that Mike Tyson did to Evander Holyfield. He noted, however, that he did not do so as there was no coming back from the action.

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Sean Strickland calls out Colby Covington's persona

Sean Strickland's popularity amongst UFC fans has been on the rise due to the authentic nature of his public persona. He recently called out Colby Covington for not being his true self. Speaking to Megan Olivi of ESPN MMA, the middleweight champion labeled the No.5-ranked welterweight as fraudulent before adding:

"He's just fraudulent, but again, I think to be a UFC fighter, it is a sense of entertainment - WWE - but you want to base your character in authenticity and then you have somebody like Colby who is a fictional persona that he's created when he's not trying to fall on [Donald] Trump's d**k... Trump left the arena while he's giving his speech. It's like watching the ugly girl get rejected at a party. You just feel bad for the guy at this point. Don't worry Colby, he knows your name."

Check out Sean Strickland's comments on Colby Covington below (starting at the 3:15 mark):

Covington has faced backlash from both fans and fighters after making comments about Leon Edwards' father ahead of UFC 296. The No.5-ranked welterweight, who has consistently been accused of putting on a created persona, was criticized for taking his act too far.