Dana White: Sean Strickland punching fan was not serious, but 'we have people around him now'

LAS VEGAS – Sean Strickland’s first UFC title-shot fight week is going pretty much how company president Dana White envisioned it would.

Hours after Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) said in an interview with Fox Sports Australia that he punched a fan, White was quick to shut down any face-value interpretation of that story when he talked to reporters including MMA Junkie on Tuesday following DWCS 61.

“Do you know where the news came from that he punched a fan?” White said. “Yeah, (the news came from him). Yeah, he’s beauty. He played it up more than whatever and was jokingly. … The fan and him are cool. Going into this, I knew. I knew what this week was going to be like. Yes, we’re prepared for it and yes we have people around him now, so he won’t be punching people in the stomach anymore – for fun or not for fun.”

Strickland, 32, has frequently tested the boundaries of the general public’s tolerance during media obligations in recent years. Tuesday, Strickland continued his lean into a blatant attempt to be controversial when he showed up to a UFC 293 pre-fight news conference sporting a white “CANCEL ME” t-shirt.

Even then and there, Strickland admitted the fan “incident” was not much more than a playful interaction with a mutual understanding.

“I was more in jest,” Strickland told reporters including MMA Junkie Wednesday in Sydney. “It was fun. He had a giggle about it. I had a giggle about it. But you know me. You’ve got to do the right things.”

In the UFC 293 main event, Strickland challenges middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) for the title. The card takes place Saturday (Sunday local) at Qudos Bank Arena.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.