Midnight Roundup! Sean Strickland lashes out at Bryce Hall, UFC middleweight arrested, Alexander Volkanovski confident against Ilia Topuria, and more

Ahead of the highly anticipated UFC 298 event this weekend, fight fans were treated to some exciting new developments in the MMA world. Sean Strickland has found himself feuding with Bryce Hall and recently lashed out at the popular social media influencer for trying to set up a sparring session.

In other news, an active UFC middleweight contender has been arrested by the police after a heated disagreement following a domestic call. Meanwhile, reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski revealed that he isn't bothered by Ilia Topuria's brash trash-talking ahead of their title fight.

Read about all the latest developments in the MMA world with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.

Sean Strickland calls out Bryce Hall for a no-holds-barred sparring session

Sean Strickland recently beat the brakes off popular 'Manosphere' influencer Sneako during a sparring session at the UFC PI in Las Vegas. After the brutal beatdown, social media star Bryce Hall expressed his dismay at Strickland bullying an untrained combatant and called him out for sparring in the cage.

Hall made his boxing debut against fellow influencer Austin McBroom in an exhibition match in June 2021. He then competed in a bare-knuckle boxing match at BKFC 48 last August and defeated Gee Perez via second-round knockout.

After Strickland dominated Sneako in the cage, Hall expressed his desire to avenge his friend and face 'Tarzan' himself. However, Strickland wasn't happy about the terms presented and slammed Hall online. Reacting to a fan comment on X, he wrote:

"His manager called my people to set up some sparring... You don't get that privilege @BryceHall. It's in my gym, with my people and I'll tell you when you're fu**ing done, no time limit. no 10 counts, no tap out. I'll tell you when you're done...pu**y."

UFC middleweight contender arrested by police on livestream after heated exchange

UFC middleweight Sedriques Dumas recently found himself in some hot water. The 28-year-old was wrestled to the ground by the police during his arrest, which was streamed live on social media by the fighter.

Per reports, Dumas was talking to two LEOs responding to a call made by the fighter's ex-girlfriend. It seems the couple had a domestic disagreement, and things got heated. After the conversation, Dumas is tackled by some other officers who arrive on the scene, and the streaming audio goes hazy.

MMA-based X handle @mmamania shared a clip of Dumas' ordeal. The video showed the confrontation getting more heated as things progressed.

Alexander Volkanovski promises to deliver a "humbling" lesson to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298

Alexander Volkanovski is set to defend the featherweight championship against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 this weekend. Ahead of their highly anticipated clash, the Georgian-Spanish fighter has been vocally confident about winning and has been trash-talking 'The Great' on social media over the past few weeks.

Despite the intensity of Topuria's mind games, it appears Volkanovski isn't bothered. The Australian recently vowed to show Topuria his place and teach him a lesson in the octagon. Speaking to Megan Olivi in an interview, Volkanovski said:

"I plan on doing what I do in February. You might see a bit of change in his tone after that. He hasn't had someone to do that to him yet... He'll be getting taught a lesson. Maybe a bit of humbling... I don't care how easy I think it is, I'm always gonna prepare. I'm going to prepare for the worst... so people can I say I'm delusional, but I know that I'm gonna do everything I can to back that."

Catch Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (11:56):

Belal Muhammad sounds off on Darren Till for criticizing his fighting style

Belal Muhammad wasn't happy about Darren Till throwing shade at his fighting style and clapped back at the former UFC star. It started after Muhammad stated on X that he was down to fight Leon Edwards for the welterweight title regardless of the circumstances.

Till responded to Muhammad by implying that his style of fighting wouldn't entertain fans, especially in a main event spot. He wrote:

"If you was fighting in my back garden, I'd close the curtains."

'Remember The Name' wasn't fazed and fired back with a jab at Till's housing situation. He wrote:

"Trailer parks have gardens?"

Henry Cejudo faces backlash after admitting firing coach on camera was a prank

Henry Cejudo's plan to fool fans by parting ways with his longtime coach, Eric Albarracin, on camera during an episode of the UFC Embedded vlogs backfired badly after many slammed his actions.

Cejudo is set to face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 this weekend. Ahead of his bout, 'Triple C' surprisingly fired his coach during the filming of UFC Embedded, with many slamming him for doing so in a public setting. However, Cejudo recently took to Instagram and revealed that it was a prank.

After @MMAFighting reposted Cejudo's Instagram revelation, many flocked to the comments section to express themselves. Check out some fan reactions here.

Dana White offers Ian Garry some words of advice in the wake of social media controversies

Ian Garry hasn't felt much love from the MMA community on social media over the past few months. Garry came under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that his wife, Layla Anna-Lee, published a book titled 'How to be a WAG' many years ago.

He also came under fire for causing domestic issues for Neil Magny and for personally insulting Geoff Neal ahead of their UFC 298 clash. Since then, he's flown to avoid fans' radar and hasn't engaged in too much trash-talking online.

During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, White weighed in on the controversies surrounding Garry outside the octagon. He said:

''I think it was messing with him for a little while there, but you know, when you're in this business, you have to get to a point where you block out all that bullsh*t. Who cares what the internet is saying or what the media is saying? Focus on what you need to do, and focus on Geoff Neal is what you need to worry about on Saturday night.''

Catch Dana White's comments below (10:10):