Sean Strickland is set to defend his middleweight title for the first time when he faces Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 this weekend. While the pair had an altercation at UFC 296, they were able to settle their differences amicably ahead of the bout.
As the middleweight champion was explaining the situation during the UFC 297 press conference, a fan rushed on stage to greet him, however, was tackled away by security. Speaking to the media, 'Tarzan' stated:
"It was never f**king personal. You have the c**k Sean O'Malley say some stupid s**t he knows nothing about. I go hard on everybody you guys. You don't think I deserve a little s**t, bro? I go hard on all you motherf**kers. I'm proud of the motherf**ker. You don't see me lose character often. This motherf**ker got me there."
In the midst of his statement, the fan ran on stage, bringing excitement to Strickland, who followed by stating:
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"Let's go. F**king savage. Real talk, me and Dricus, we're going to try to f**king kill each other for you guys. Dricus, can I get an agreement? To the f**king death."
Check out footage of the fan running on stage to Sean Strickland below:
Watch the full UFC 297 press conference below:
The fan was quickly wrestled away by security before he was able to greet the middleweight champion. As for the title challenger, he shook hands with his opponent, agreeing that they would fight to the death at UFC 297.
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis brush off Israel Adesanya's UFC 297 prediction
UFC 297 will mark the first middleweight title bout without Israel Adesanya since UFC 217 in 2017. The two-time middleweight champion shared that he believes Dricus du Plessis will dethrone Sean Strickland to claim the title. Both fighters brushed off his comments, however, at the UFC 297 press conference.
'Stillknocks' was the first to respond, claiming:
"Israel Adesanya is irrelevant right now. That man went on holiday and let him stay there."
Strickland added:
"Listen, listen, Izzy, the f**king guy, the f**king cringelord, the pup play himself. F**k Izzy. F**king I could've took Izzy down and beat his a** on the ground, but I chose to stand with him like a man. What did he do the whole fight? Run away like a b**ch. Izzy, shut your f**king mouth."
Check out Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis' comments on Israel Adesanya below: