Dricus Du Plessis praises Sean Strickland for jumping him ahead of UFC 297 fight

MMA fighter Dricus Du Plessis has praised Sean Strickland for jumping him ahead of their UFC 297 fight.

Newly crowned champion Sean Strickland is set to defend his middleweight title for the first time as he faces Dricus Du Plessis for the main event at UFC 297 on January 20.

Ahead of their anticipated clash in the octagon, which will be Du Plessis’s first shot at becoming a champion, the two got themselves caught up in a brawl with each other before their fight.

Du Plessis praises Strickland after clash ahead of fight

The two MMA stars were sat near each other at UFC 296 as Leon Edwards took on Colby Covington. Nevertheless, it ended with the ‘Tarzan’ Strickland lunging and attacking his opponent after Du Plessis mocked him for the abuse he suffered as a child.

Speaking with ‘MMA Junkie’, Du Plessis was asked if he’d be pressing charges, and he surprisingly praised his opponent for standing up for himself during their clash at UFC 296.

“He stood up for himself. That’s what a real man does. I’m happy for him,” he said. “I’m glad he has that in him. No matter what the situation, what the repercussions, he didn’t think about it.”

Du Plessis added: “He said, ‘I’m standing up for myself,’ and rightfully so. That’s where the respect comes from because that’s exactly what I would’ve done.”

Du Plessis believes his altercation with Strickland has only built up the hype for their fight even more. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out when they finally go blow-for-blow properly on January 20 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.