Sean Strickland, a former UFC middleweight champion, sparred bareknuckle with streamer Joel in a Las Vegas desert on May 30 2025. The brief session, recorded on video, showed Strickland’s dominance over the untrained opponent.
Strickland joined streamer Adin Ross, filming content in Las Vegas. He sparred Joel, Ross’s friend, without gloves in a desert setting.
The session followed a moment where Strickland pulled a gun on Ross, recorded but without incident.
Desert Sparring Breakdown
Strickland landed light punches. When Joel swung harder, Strickland delivered a left hook, saying, “Bareknuckle, too. It’s such a different feeling when you actually touch a man’s skull with your knuckles,”.
The video showed Joel struggling against Strickland’s skill.
Sean Strickland just gave Adin Ross’ friend Joel the BEATS 😭pic.twitter.com/qrtkRaBC30
— Kick Clips 🎬 (@kick_clips) May 31, 2025
Sean Strickland just pulled his gun on a streamer 2 minutes into Adin Ross’ stream 💀 pic.twitter.com/P4yUHKTDPy
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 30, 2025
Strickland has sparred untrained individuals before, often facing criticism for the mismatches.
Joel, a friend of Adin Ross, has no fighting experience. His participation was unplanned, with no training reported. The video, shared online on May 31 2025, spread widely. Viewers noted the skill gap, with some commenting on Strickland’s restraint.
Strickland’s 65.4% significant strike defense, the highest among active UFC middleweights, aided his precision, per UFC Stats. His Philly Shell guard outmatched Joel.
Born February 27, 1991, in Corona, California, Strickland holds a 29-6 MMA record. He won the middleweight title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023 but lost it to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in January 2024. He lost a rematch at UFC 312 on February 8 2025.
The sparring followed Strickland’s UFC 312 loss. It aligns with his outspoken behavior. Strickland is unbooked, with no UFC fights scheduled. Joel is unlikely to pursue fighting.
