Sean Strickland’s Chilling Warning to Top Contender: ‘There’s a Line You Don’t Cross’

Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland has been known for his dark desire to experience what it’s like to take a life. As he ascends in the middleweight division, “Tarzan” has become more reticent about these fantasies. However, remarks about his childhood made by Dricus du Plessis have reignited the American’s violent inclinations.

At a press conference before UFC 296 in December, tensions flared between Strickland and du Plessis after the latter joked about beating Strickland worse than his father did during his childhood. This comment enraged Strickland, leading to a noted altercation during UFC 296. Strickland has openly discussed his traumatic childhood and poor relationship with his father in past interviews.

Following the press conference, Strickland broke down on Theo Von‘s podcast as he recounted the severity of his childhood experiences. He now warns du Plessis that there will be severe repercussions if he speaks of his childhood again.

“Remember when I attacked Dricus? That was actually a message. Listen, Dricus, we’re going to try to kill each other, but if you mention that stuff again, I swear I will cut you,” said Strickland on his YouTube channel. “Dricus, I’m not saying you’re not a good fighter. I’m just saying there’s a line that, once crossed, we’re not talking about fighting anymore. If I go to Canada and you (talk about my childhood trauma), guess what? I’ll end up in jail, they’ll deport me, and we’ll have wasted eight weeks of training for no reason.”

Strickland and du Plessis will face off this weekend at UFC 297. Strickland is coming off an impressive victory over Israel Adesanya last year, while the top-ranked du Plessis remains undefeated in the octagon with six consecutive wins.