Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis dove into a brawl at UFC 296 after the latter mentioned the champ’s traumatic childhood in one of his recent insults to the opponent. And despite being known for his trash-talking attitude, “Tarzan” believes there are limits to such a practice. In his case, it is his father who brought him a dark childhood.

During UFC 296, Strickland and Du Plessis were unbelievably placed near each other in the crowd. In one of the moments of the event, the two were given some camera time, allowing them to gesture and mutter insults at each other. Seconds later, Strickland jumped from his place and pounced on Du Plessis. The two were immediately separated, with Strickland escorted out of the venue. Meanwhile, Du Plessis was interviewed after the event, noting “how easy it was to mentally trigger” the opponent.

More than two weeks after the event and Du Plessis’ criticism of his temper, Strickland addressed the matter. In an interview on the This Past Weekend podcast, the champ acknowledged that the challenger’s comment was the catalyst of the melee, pushing him to revisit it and share with the world what made it something he would not like other people to mention.

“I was in probably third or fourth grade,” Strickland shared. “I used to always sleep in my mom’s room because I thought my dad was going to kill my mom. So I would sleep by the door, I’d sleep under the bed. I’d sleep by the door because I thought my dad was going to kill my mom.

“… My dad gets on top of my mom and I remember he said ‘I’m going to f****** kill you tonight.’ Maybe it’s just rough sex, we don’t know at this moment. I’m under the bed and he starts strangling her. I get out and the only thing I can see is a guitar, I just f******* crack him in the head and call the cops. I run down the street to call the cops, he’s arrested and my dumb ass mom bails him out of jail. I would say that’s the tip of the iceberg.

While “Stillknocks” pointed out that Strickland is also a trash talker, the latter believes the opponent crossed the line. And as the champ stressed, this past abuse is something he would not allow others to use against him again to make him the victim.

“There’s some things that are off limits,” Strickland explained. “You don’t really talk about a man’s wife, you don’t talk about a man’s kids, and you don’t about a kid being abused. These things are all off-limits. Once he crossed that … I tried to f****** ignore it. I was boiling.

“Whenever Dricus goes on there, and he jokes about that s***, dude, you have no idea. I’ll f****** kill you. You have no idea. I think the issue is too, when you’re a kid and you’re made to be a victim your whole life, as an adult, you’re like never again. I’ll f****** kill you.”

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