The infamous cageside brawl between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis? Brandon Moreno knew it was coming.
Ahead of their scheduled title fight at UFC 297, Strickland and Du Plessis spent UFC 296 fight week in December promoting their matchup, which included an ugly back-and-forth during a press conference that featured the headliners of the year’s first three pay-per-views. Strickland was triggered at the press conference when Du Plessis brought up his abusive upbringing, and the feeling carried over to UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena.
For some reason, Du Plessis was assigned to sit just two rows directly behind Strickland. After the UFC 296 broadcast filmed both men, all hell broke loose when Strickland jumped over a row of seats and attacked Du Plessis.
Moreno and his family were seated in the row between Strickland and Du Plessis, and the former UFC flyweight champion recalled his experience in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio.
“I remember watching Strickland and DDP behind me, and then I turned my face to talk to my wife,” Moreno said. “I was ready to tell her, ‘Hey, let’s move a little bit, because something’s gonna happen right now.’ But in that moment I said ‘something’s gonna happen,’ Strickland jumped and everything started to be a mess. Everything was fine, but then a bodyguard pushed me to the ground. It’s fine. I just wanted to protect my wife.”
The way things were going leading up to that moment, Moreno wasn’t at all surprised by what transpired.
“I think it was very clear (a fight would break out),” Moreno said. “Dana White said the same: Who put DDP behind Strickland? It’s insane. You could see it in his eyes like, ‘Man, something’s gonna happen.'”
He was right.
Du Plessis went on to defeat Strickland and claim the middleweight title by split decision in the UFC 297 main event last month. Before they stepped foot in the cage, the two men seemed to have buried the hatchet on their feud.
Moreno returns to action Feb. 24 at UFC Fight Night in Mexico City, where he’ll headline the event in a rematch with Brandon Royval.
