Sean Strickland is doing his best to put on a show during UFC 312 fight week.
The former middleweight champion will try to win back his belt when he takes on Dricus du Plessis in a rematch more than one year after the South African beat him by split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024.
Before their first fight, Sean Strickland invited a fan onto the stage to spar during his open workout.
Ahead of UFC 312, the same fan popped up for a rematch with Strickland – but it did not end well for him.
Sean Strickland competes in rematch ahead of UFC 312
Viral footage shows Strickland running things back with the game Aussie fight fan.
Thankfully, the wacky American didn’t go all guns blazing like he did against streamer Sneako.
Strickland playfully taunted his opponent as they moved around on stage for a cheering crowd.
The 33-year-old landed light pop shots as he invited the fan to take some big swings during their second spar.
Ultimately, Strickland landed a perfect body shot that left his training partner on the floor in agony.
Bravely or stupidly, he decided to get up and continue trading blows with the former UFC champion.
Eventually, Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, stepped in to separate the two unlikely rivals.
Sean Strickland denies punching fan
Strickland became UFC champion by beating Israel Adesanya in Sydney, Australia in September 2023.
He’ll try to win a second MMA world title in the same city when he rematches du Plessis this weekend.
Perhaps one of the most mythologized stories of Strickland’s Australian title triumph was his visit to Bondi Beach. Early in his trip, he ran into a fan and allegedly punched him when he went too far with his trolling.
The story goes that while visiting the famous beach with his girlfriend, a fan told Strickland: “Izzy is going to f— you up.” This prompted the confrontational challenger to punch him in the stomach, although no footage of this ever emerged, nor any sort of victim’s perspective.
Just days before UFC 312, Strickland finally revealed the truth about the fan he supposedly punched during his last trip down under.
“Let me tell you, I did not punch,” he said. “It was a friendly, like, ‘Hey buddy, hey friend’,” When the host asked if it was closed fist he replied: “No, there was no punch, it was real nice, it was more of a handshake with a ‘nice to meet ya’.
“It was real nice actually, he was a real nice guy.” Strickland did however say that he would provide a ticket if the fan identified himself, adding: “I’d give him a ticket to the fight. I’d hook him up.”