UFC President Dana White took responsibility for a brawl between fighters Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis at UFC 296, attributing the incident to his oversight in seating arrangements and stating there will be no repercussions for the fighters.
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis threw down at UFC 296. Chaos erupted in the stands, but Dana White isn’t pointing fingers at them.
The UFC boss owned up to the scuffle. He admitted, “I’m the guy who sat them together,” during the post-fight presser. Strickland went airborne, hurdling chairs to land punches on du Plessis. Security swarmed in, but the damage was done.
White chuckled at his own blunder. “What kind of an idiot does that? This idiot,” he confessed. Seating assignments are his gig, and he flubbed this one. Strickland and du Plessis? A no-go combo, obviously.
“This is our world,” White shrugged. He tried calming Strickland down, to no avail. The fighter chose to exit, stage left. Du Plessis? He was chill, just outside the door.
Videos later showed Strickland’s polite side. He asked Gilbert Burns and his family to move before leaping into action. White found that bit amusing yet troubling. “Could you move so I can get to that guy?” Not exactly a hallmark of civility.
Despite the Vegas PD’s cameo, no cuffs were slapped on. White quipped, “Cops have better things to do.” Two fighters squabbling isn’t top of their list.
No penalties for the brawlers, White confirmed. In the fight biz, what happens there, stays there. But this time, White’s taking the heat. He vows to never repeat this seating snafu.
“It’s on me,” White said, still in disbelief. He’s the gatekeeper of order, and he let this one slip. “Mind-blowing,” he added, promising a lesson learned.