Video: Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis Fight in Crowd During UFC 296

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis got into a brawl ahead of their upcoming fight at UFC 297 as the two fighters threw punches at each other in the crowd of UFC 296.

Strickland is set to defend his middleweight title against Du Plessis on Jan. 20, although it appears that there's enough bad blood between the two that they weren't able to wait until then.

Du Plessis responded to the altercation on social media:

Both men have likely been feeling animosity towards one another following their heated press conference on Friday, with the two nearly getting into a physical altercation on stage before UFC president Dana White separated them.

Strickland will be looking for his first title defense at UFC 297 after defeating Israel Adesanya in a shocking upset on Sept. 10, claiming the championship in a five-round decision. The 32-year-old owns a record of 28-5 in his career, having won his past three fights in a row.

DuPlessis is 20-2, although he hasn't fought since July 8. His last matchup was against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, finishing him via TKO in the second round.

It's currently unknown if the two fighters sustained any injuries during their brawl in the stands which could jeopardize their upcoming matchup.