Toronto – UFC middleweight title challenger Dricus du Plessis revealed his exchange with Sean Strickland on social media as he prepares to face him at UFC 297 on Saturday night.
“This happened the day after the altercation in the crowd (at UFC 296). I arrived in South Africa, as we were on the runway still taxing to where we get off, I opened my phone and I saw a DM from Sean Strickland. I thought it was maybe like a fan page, going to hate mail, something like that,” du Plessis told Cageside Press at media day on Wednesday.
“It said, something along the lines of, ‘Listen, this is what happened, I’m sorry what I said about your coach and you. If there’s anything that’s crossing the line for you’, he’s like, ‘listen I know we signed to fight and all that but if there’s out of line that I said that you want me to pull back, I’ll apologize. I’ll even take back what I said, I’ll remove posts.'”
Du Plessis described the messages from Strickland and gave a different view of the middleweight champion than most fans see at pressers.
“I feel kind of like this is not a great move, but he brought it up. I would have never told the media about this. This happened 5 weeks ago. I don’t want to expose a man in that way. It’s not my style. I was actually surprised that I saw him make it public that he did message me because I didn’t want to out him on that,” du Plessis continued.
“So he said if there’s anything that he shouldn’t say like (he’ll) lay back, but if I bring up the thing of his childhood again he said ‘I’ll kill you and ruin your life and mine way before we step into the cage’ something like that. That’s exactly his words.”
Strickland had been making fun of du Plessis for kissing his coaches and other male friends and family. Du Plessis felt nothing from that trash talk.
“There’s nothing you can say that has any effect on me. Like go crazy, you’re talking about me kissing other dudes, I have more photos. I posted them online I don’t care,” du Plessis laughed.
“I’m completely comfortable with my sexuality. Have you seen my girl? My guy…..yeah.”
His response to Strickland did come with an agreement to not speak on the champions childhood any further.
“I’m the mentally strongest fighter in the world and I told him, ‘You can say literally whatever you want. All is fair in love and war, but I won’t say anything about your childhood again. Cool.’ That’s it, yeah,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Dricus du Plessis above. He takes on Sean Strickland for the middleweight title at UFC 297.
