NewsBite

Video

UFC 296: Dana White admits he was responsible for Sean Strickland-Dricus du Plessis fight

Dana White has taken responsibility for the wild cageside brawl that erupted between middleweight champion Sean Strickland and title challenger Dricus du Plessis. Re-live UFC 296.

Brendan Bradford and Michael Carayannis
15 min read
December 17, 2023 - 5:52PM
'That man is as good as dead tomorrow'

Dana White has taken responsibility for the wild cageside brawl that erupted between middleweight champion Sean Strickland and title challenger Dricus du Plessis at UFC 296.

The pair were sitting within two metres of each other when they both appeared on the broadcast. Strickland fired an imaginary gun at du Plessis, with the South African dodging the fake bullet sent his way.

After cameras cut away, Strickland hurdled over a chair and attacked du Plessis. The pair are scheduled to fight at UFC 297 in the first pay-per-view of 2024 in Toronto on January 20.

Speaking after this weekend’s main event, White said it was his call to sit them so close together.

“What kind of an asshole sits Strickland next to du Plessis? This asshole, that’s who,” the UFC boss said, while pointing to himself. “I do the seating assignments. How f***ing stupid is that?

“I don’t know what human you could sit Strickland next to, but not du Plessis. I don’t know how you could miss that.

“But, we are in the fight business. These are the things that happen.”

White said he won’t issue either fighter with a punishment.

One of the most outspoken fighters in the UFC, Strickland has let his feelings known on everyone and everything over the past six months.

Ahead of his win over Abus Magomedov in June, Strickland said, “We need to go back to taking women out of the workforce,” before saying, “revoke that man’s black card” in reference to then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Since beating Adesanya in a massive boilover at UFC 293 in Sydney in September, Strickland has weighed in on Colby Covington, Ian Garry and Sean O’Malley.

Du Plessis says the 32-year-old needs to be able to take trash talk if he gives it out.

“I don’t really care how he feels,” du Plessis told the UFC’s Megan Olivi hours after the brawl. “I don’t care about him being triggered. He always goes and says whatever he wants.

“Now this one thing is a soft spot – a trigger for him – and now we’re not allowed to say anything? If you dish it out, you’ve gotta be able to take it.

“So the fact that he’s triggered, I don’t give a damn about that.”

While footage of their scrap went viral, du Plessis denied it gave him any more motivation ahead of their January 20 showdown.

“I can’t believe how easy it was to make him triggered,” he said.

“He’s just bashing everybody, ranting on everybody. One little sentence and the man loses his mind. It shows how easily mentally the man will be broken.”

Strickland left his thoughts on X, formerly Twitter.

“I go hard on everyone I know this, izzy mouth feeding his dog, Dricus kissing his coach and grabbing his cup,” he wrote. “Omally talking about sharing his wife in a podcast.

“You’re a man, on a world stage doing this in public And what do you pick? “You got abused as a kid ha”

UFC champ’s elite response to shocking dad slur

After talking a ridiculous amount of trash during fight week, Colby Covington put in a toothless performance against Leon Edwards, losing a lacklustre unanimous decision.

Covington promised to take Edwards to “the seventh layer of hell” during the ugly build-up to their 170-pound title fight, but barely fired a shot once the bout began.

Edwards was a step ahead for the first three rounds, and despite Covington’s relatively strong finish, left the cage with barely a mark on him as he made the second defence of his title with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 49-46.

There were questions over whether Edwards would be able to keep his cool after Covington made awful remarks about the Englishman’s late father during fight week.

Edwards admitted he was rattled by Covington’s comments about his father, who was shot and killed when Edwards was 13.

“He talked about my dad’s death for entertainment,” an emotional Edwards said.

“I needed to calm down.

“After the press conference, I went back and cried because of the rage.

“You can’t use my dad’s death for entertainment and that’s what he did. To this day it breaks my heart.”

But it was a cagey opening two minutes as the pair tested each other out.

Edwards landed the first big shot of the fight, connecting with a nice left hook which drew blood.

Leon Edwards dominates Colby Covington. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Leon Edwards dominates Colby Covington. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

After all his trash talk, Covington played right into Edwards’ game plan in the second round as well. A superior striker, Edwards picked Covington off as the American came in, and countered well on exiting.

Known for his top-notch cardio, Covington barely attempted to force the pace, and seemed hesitant to attempt any takedowns.

Edwards directed a barrage of leg-kicks at ‘Chaos’, with Covington’s right leg showing signs of damage well before the end of the second round.

“He’s getting beat up,” Joe Rogan said in commentary. “I’ve never seen Colby fight like this.”

Meanwhile, the pro-Covington crowd seemed to be watching in on stunned silence, with a smattering of boos at the end of the second round.

Covington – who has lost all three of his welterweight title fights – made some bizarre post-fight comments.

“It was an easy fight, I don’t have a scratch on me,” he said, while blood dripped down his nose from a cut and the crowd burst out into boos.

“Anyone who faces adversity must come back stronger, just like Trump. He had a rigged election, but he’s coming back in 2024 to make America great again.”

As the boos grew louder, Covington left the cage with a foul-mouthed tirade.

“I thought I won this fight,” he said.

“Thank you all for the support, thank you all for the hate. You’re all a bunch of drunk b***es anyway, f**k you.”

Covington’s corner begged him to get to work, and the 35-year-old finally landed a takedown in the third round.

He couldn’t secure the position though, with Edwards escaping and landing his own takedown.

Covington opened round four with another takedown attempt, but Edwards defended and nearly locked in a choke submission.

Covington finally managed to land a few punches in the final minute of the fourth round as Edwards showed signs of fatigue.

Covington had his moments in the fifth round, and spent much of the frame in a dominant position, but it was too little too late as ‘Rocky’ lasted until the final siren and defended his title.

Kid caught in wild crowd brawl

Sean Strickland and his UFC middleweight champion challenger Dricus du Plessis just exchanged punches in the crowd just seconds after being introduced on the big screen.

Strickland fired an imaginary gun at du Plessis, with the South African dodging the fake bullet.

After cameras cut away, they exchanged blows, with Strickland jumping back.

The child involved in the incident is the son of welterweight veteran Gilbert Burns. Strickland can be seen calmly asking Burns’ wife and son to move aside before using their seats to leap over and attack du Plessis.

Security rushed in to stop the pair and Strickland was ushered out of the arena.

Strickland’s front row seats were right next to jiu-jitsu legend Craig Jones and Australia’s Alex Volkanovski.

Du Plessis took to X, formerly Twitter, to give his thoughts on the brawl.

“Now I understand why you have a 33% finish rate, you hit like a girl,” he wrote. “Also 20 Jan the security won’t be there to save your life when I’m on top.”

Tension between the pair initially threatened to boil over at Saturday’s press conference to promote the UFC’s up-coming pay-per-view events.

It began with du Plessis – who is coming off a shock second round stoppage of Robert Whittaker – taking a low blow at Strickland’s father.

The American comes from an abusive household and has been open about his father’s struggles with addiction.

“You think your dad beat the s… out of you? Your dad doesn’t have s… on me,” du Plessis said. “Every childhood memory you have is going to come back when I’m in there with you.

“The one where you lay in bed at night and you daddy comes in and beats the s… out of you …”

Strickland will defend his middleweight title against du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto in January, and responded on social media.

“There are a lot of kids out there who have been abused and molested and it’s a damn tragic thing that forever changes you,” he wrote.

“How you function, how you view the world, how you treat relationships, how you handle addiction and for someone to put you down with that level of trauma on a world stage is an utter disgrace.

“I have a big following of people who suffered trauma, molestation and I will tell you that it’s not funny to me, whatever you’ve gone through or have been through isn’t funny to me........

“I hope you all understand that these are weak men who don’t understand hardship, they don’t understand what it’s like to live with demons...

“Forever a struggle they will never understand.”

UFC commentator Joe Rogan said the brawl is a black eye for the sport.

“Ahead of a huge championship fight.... what if someone broke a hand, what if someone rolled an ankle.... it’s not good for the sport.”

Trump enters the building

The prelims are done and dusted, and we’re moving on to the PPV main card.

Donald Trump arrives at UFC 296

Former President Donald Trump has made a habit of showing up at UFC events in 2023.

He was in attendance at UFC 287 in Miami, made a guest appearance at Alex Volkanovski’s UFC 290 title defence in July and was at Madison Square Garden for UFC 295.

He made another big entrance ahead of the PPV portion of UFC 296, entering T-Mobile Arena with Dana White and Kid Rock.

Colby Covington has spoken all week about his friendship with Trump, and wants the former president to wrap the welterweight title around his waist if he beats Leon Edwards.

Frightening knockout rocks UFC

There’s scary scenes at UFC 296, after Josh Emmett knocked out Bryce Mitchell in sickening fashion, leaving the Arkansas featherweight convulsing on the ground.

Emmett landed a perfectly timed overhand right on Mitchell’s chin just two minutes into the first round.

Mitchell – who took the bout on just two weeks’ notice – was knocked unconscious instantly and crumbled to the canvas as his entire body went stiff.

The crowd went wild and Emmett celebrated, before Mitchell started convulsing on the canvas.

It immediately became clear that this wasn’t a normal KO, with Emmett tempering his celebrations and the TV cameras staying away from Mitchell.

“He’s shaking bad, oh my goodness, he’s in convulsions, he’s having a seizure right now,” said commentator Joe Rogan.

With US president Donald Trump sitting cageside, a hush went over the arena as Mitchell eventually woke up.

Event staff and medicos helped Mitchell to his feet, but two minutes after the knockout shot, he was barely able to stand up without assistance.

“He can’t stand. They’re holding him up right now,” Rogan said. “He can’t stand up, look at his legs.

“They should put him back down. Don’t have him stand, he’s going to fall down and do a knee, by God, put a chair under this man.

“Don’t let him stand up. His legs are still unsteady, his knees are buckling and he can’t walk. That’s insane.”

Mitchell left the cage with assistance before Bruce Buffer made the result official.

Having landed one of the biggest, scariest knockouts ever, Emmett gave a subdued post-fight interview.

“I want to thank Bryce for taking the fight, he took it on two weeks’ notice,” he said. “He’s a dangerous guy, but I am the most powerful featherweight in the world.”

‘It might’ve been broken’ - O’Neill forced to tap out

Aussie Casey O’Neill has been forced to tap out after being caught in a nasty second round armbar by a surging Ariane Lipski.

After locking in the submission, Lipski cranked O’Neill’s arm at an extremely awkward angle, with the Scottish-born Australian tapping just moments before it looked like her arm was about to snap in two.

The result is the second consecutive loss of O’Neill’s career, after she dropped a decision to Jennifer Maia when she attempted to return from a torn ACL too quickly.

“Look at the hyperextension here on that armbar,” said commentator Joe Rogan. “That is gross. If she didn’t tap, it might’ve been broken.”

Nicknamed ‘Queen of Violence’ Lipski won the early striking exchanges as O’Neill looked to lock in two takedowns.

O’Neill’s best attack came from a series of calf kicks towards the end of the opening round.

Lipski rattled O’Neill in the opening seconds of the second round with a huge right hand to the side of O’Neill’s chin. O’Neill’s legs buckled but she somehow stayed upright before looking for a desperate takedown.

It spelled the beginning of the end.

O’Neill is forced to tap out. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
O’Neill is forced to tap out. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Lipski nearly got the finish with some heavy ground and pound, but took O’Neill’s back in search of a rear-naked choke.

O’Neill somehow managed to escape, but the slick Lipski jumped straight into an armbar.

The Brazilian bent O’Neill’s right arm backwards at a disgusting angle before the 26-year-old tapped out.

What time is the UFC 296 main event?

Expect Leon Edwards and Colby Covington to hit the cage at around 4pm AEDT.

What time does the PPV start?

The pay-per-view portion of UFC 296 starts at 2pm AEDT.

How to watch UFC 296 in Australia

You can order UFC 296 on Main Event and Kayo right here.  

Volk hammers Covington

Alex Volkanovski has let fly at Colby Covington saying he crossed the line after bringing Leon Edwards’ dead father up ahead of Covington’s title bout against the Englishman.

Volkanovski gave a clear indication of where he stood when Edwards puts his UFC welterweight championship on the line against Covington as part of UFC 296 at Las Vegas on Sunday.

UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington | SUN 17th DEC 2PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Starting January 2024, Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel will be the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View events in Australia.

Tensions between the fighters boiled over at the pre-fight press conference when Covington said; “I’m going to bring you to the seventh level of hell. We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

Volkanovski, who has had his own running battles with Covington, said the comments were uncalled for.

Did Colby Covington cross the line during the pre-fight press conference? Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Did Colby Covington cross the line during the pre-fight press conference? Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

“It shows what type of human being he is,” Volkanovski said. “He crossed the line. I hope Leon teaches him a lesson. This is a sport and you get into people’s heads and there are quite a few things you do not say.

“Even if you hate the guy, there are things you do not say. That is one of them. If people are acting like that is just hyping up a fight, well that’s ridiculous. It shows you he is not a good human. Hopefully he gets what is coming to him. I am sure Leon will do that.”

The fighters came head to head again for the weigh-in on Friday with Edwards still visibly seething. Volkanovski is in Las Vegas to promote his title defence against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February.

“He is a young, hungry guy,” Volkanovski said. “He wants to take the belt off me. Not much changes because I’ve been driven and passionate. He likes to talk. Whether it’s his gimmick or if he is really a cocky dude. It gets me excited and gives me more of a reason to put hands on him.

“He will talk, he will chirp. The best thing about our sport is I get to do something about it.”

The fight for Volkanovski will be his first since he suffered a lightweight world title loss to

Islam Makhachev in October.

Alexander Volkanovski wasn’t happy with what Covington said. Picture: Steve Marcus/Getty Images
Alexander Volkanovski wasn’t happy with what Covington said. Picture: Steve Marcus/Getty Images

He took that bout on with just 11 days notice but suffered a concussion during the first round defeat.

“There are regrets,” Volkanovski said. “I am proud of the man I am to step in and take those fights on short notice. I regret that I wasn’t the disciplined guy that I usually am leading into it. I wasn’t able to get into the gym and tick all the boxes that usually get me going.

“Put it this way, I was hoping it didn’t go five rounds. I knew I needed a knockout but I knew it meant I could get tagged.”

Meanwhile, Volkanovski is prepared to help the NRL’s push into Las Vegas. Volkanovski, who played rugby league before cracking it in the UFC, said rugby league could make an impact in the US.

“I will do my part to try and help them out as well,” Volkanovski said. “It’s a great sport. They just need to be aware of it. If they can put it in front of their face and if people turn up they will like it. I think it could be good.”

Sean Strickland hits back at Covington and du Plessis

Sean Strickland launched his own scathing attack at Colby Covington and Dricus du Plessis.

Covington and Strickland have had a long-simmering rivalry. It exploded this week when this masthead published a story with ‘Chaos’ calling Strickland “pathetic” and “stupid” and threatening to move up to middleweight to fight him.

Speaking on Saturday after Covington later made terrible comments about Leon Edwards’ dad, Strickland didn’t hold back.

“Colby is an utter piece of s**t,” he fumed. “If you know Colby on a personal level, he has f…ed over everybody he knows.

“The Trumpsters, the Republicans, you guys are my people. Blue collar workers.

“And you have a c… like Colby…he don’t give a f… about you.

“And him making fun of Leon’s dad, that is the biggest c… move you can do. Dad - bad guy, good guy - doesn’t matter.

“Leon’s mom raised the boy to be a f…ing man, win the title, be a f…ing good man.

“And a real American would applaud him for that.”

Dana White separates Sean Strickland (L) and Dricus du Plessis (R). Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dana White separates Sean Strickland (L) and Dricus du Plessis (R). Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

During the press conference to announce Strickland’s UFC 297 title defence against du Plessis, the South African sent his own low blow regarding Strickland’s dad.

Strickland came from an abusive household and has been open about his father’s struggles with addiction.

“You think your dad beat the s… out of you? Your dad doesn’t have s… on me,” du Plessis said. “Every childhood memory you have is going to come back when I’m in there with you.

“The one where you lay in bed at night and you daddy comes in and beats the s… out of you …”

Strickland and du Plessis go at it. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Strickland and du Plessis go at it. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Strickland later responded on social media.

“I just wanna say one thing that I feel needs to be said,” he wrote. “There are a lot of kids out there who have been abused and molested and it’s a damn tragic thing that forever changes you.

“How you function, how you view the world, how you treat relationships, how you handle addiction and for someone to put you down with that level of trauma on a world stage is an utter disgrace.

“I have a big following of people who suffered trauma, molestation and I will tell you that it’s not funny to me, whatever you’ve gone through or have been through isn’t funny to me........

“I hope you all understand that these are weak men who don’t understand hardship, they don’t understand what it’s like to live with demons...

“Forever a struggle they will never understand.”

UFC 296 full card

Leon Edwards (c) vs. Colby Covington for the UFC welterweight title

Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Brandon Royval 2 for the UFC flyweight title

Welterweight - Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson

Lightweight - Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett

Featherweight - Josh Emmet vs. Bryce Mitchell

Prelims

Light heavyweight - Alonzo Menifield def Dustin Jacoby via UD (29-28 x 3)

Women’s bantamweight - Irene Aldana def Karol Rosa via UD (29-28 x 3)

Bantamweight - Cody Garbrandt def Brian Kelleher via Rd 2 KO

Women’s flyweight - Ariane Lipski def Casey O’Neill via Rd 2 sub (Armbar)

Early Prelims

Flyweight - Tagir Ulanbekov def Cody Durden via Rd 2 sub (RNC)

Featherweight - Andre Fili def Lucas Almeida via Rd 1 TKO

Heavyweight - Shamil Gaziev def Martin Buday via Rd 2 TKO

More Coverage

UFC chaos: Presser turns wild after dead dad sledge
Brendan Bradford
Hidden drive and shock stats behind King Casey’s UFC run
Brendan Bradford

Originally published as UFC 296: Dana White admits he was responsible for Sean Strickland-Dricus du Plessis fight

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

More related stories

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/ufc/ufc-296-alex-volkanovskis-message-to-colby-covington-after-press-conference-chaos/news-story/0e2571f01241fea7c0aebebe39b037b9