Watch: Fighters break into brawl in stands at UFC 296

Sean Strickland Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Chaos breaks out as fighters brawl in stands at UFC 296

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated Dec 17, 2023 12:42 AM ET

The most explosive fight of the night at UFC 296 arguably happened outside of the octagon.

UFC 297 headliners Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis brawled in the stands at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday.

Strickland and Du Plessis were seated just a few rows apart in the venue. The pair unsurprisingly got heated during the latter part of the night. Words turned into actions as the two exchanged blows as security struggled to separate the pair.

Sean Strickland just beat the brakes off Dricus Du Plesis in the crowd… pic.twitter.com/Dc7xq5Z43c

— Fight Haven (@FightHaven) December 17, 2023

Footage of DDP and Strickland getting pulled apart after coming to blows. pic.twitter.com/3YWAebvRKX

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 17, 2023

Sean Strickland and Du Plessis going at it #ufc296 @ufc pic.twitter.com/1eFMnqq1oZ

— rachel (@ograchelmarie) December 17, 2023

Strickland, who was later removed from the event, at least had the decency to ask the fan sitting between the two men to move before he lunged at Du Plessis.

Strickland told Gilbert Burns kid to move and then he ATTACKED. Wild. @SpinninBackfist pic.twitter.com/Hcdl402zoO

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 17, 2023

The unscheduled fight may have spilled over from Friday's UFC 297 news conference. The two men did not hold back with their threats on Friday. Strickland apparently had no plans of waiting for January 20 to land some blows against his opponent.

There was NOTHING off the table in this dark #UFC297 press conference exchange between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. pic.twitter.com/Owhyp6CNEO

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 16, 2023

UFC president Dana White was among the men who tried to separate the two during the altercation. But you can’t help but wonder if the seat placement was more the coincidence. The two were shown on the broadcast acting playful just before the fight broke out.