Sean Strickland’s clearing the air. The former UFC middleweight champ fired back on Instagram under an Overdogs Podcast post after Dan Henderson claimed he was kicked out of Team Quest in Temecula, California, for trash-talking training partners online. Strickland insists he left on his own in 2016 after Henderson retired and the gym’s fight team weakened, frustrated by teammates skipping sparring for yoga. Now, both train and spar regularly at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, showing no real bad blood.
Strickland’s Side of the Story
Henderson shared his version on Mike Perry’s Overdogs Podcast.
“You know, he got in little argument matches with some of the guys that thought he was going too hard,” Henderson said. “Then he would go online and talk shit about him and he did it a little bit too much. Just more socially, I didn’t care what happened in the room. When you send it out to everybody to hear all that shit, it’s just disrespectful for your training partners, guys that are in there training with you to help you out as well. He just did it too many times, I warned him a bunch, and then finally just said, ‘Hey dude, you’ve got to go.’ But he was a good training partner and I enjoyed having him in there and liked having a guy that is in there that goes hard.”
Strickland didn’t let it slide, responding in the comments of the Overdogs Podcast Instagram post.
“None of this is true,” he wrote. “I was Dan’s main training partner for his last fight. He retired, the fight team fell off and when it was time to renew my membership I left… but he is correct I would make fun of the fight team constantly. They would do yoga and skip sparring lol [Keith Berry] I’m talking about you haha funny thing is we’re both at [Xtreme Couture] and spar regularly now.” He added, “No bro, I lost it on multiple occasions when it was sparring day and 90 percent of the fight team was doing yoga skipping pro practice haha. Massive gym blowups from me.”
He showed respect, saying, “Dan is the man though. And if he didn’t retire and seen what I seen with most the guys skipping class to go do yoga he would have been throwing H bombs, too.”
Born in Anaheim, California, on February 27, 1991, Sean Strickland grew up in Corona with an abusive father, attacking him with a guitar as a child to protect his mother, per Wikipedia. Expelled from school in ninth grade for a hate crime, he embraced neo-Nazi views from his grandfather before MMA at 14 redirected his path. He turned pro in 2008 with King of the Cage, going 9-0 and winning the middleweight title in 2012. Joining UFC in 2014, he’s 29-7, winning the UFC middleweight title in 2023 against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, a stunning upset, but lost it to Dricus Du Plessis in 2024 at UFC 297. His latest fight was a split decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June 2024. Known for his Philly Shell defense, 65.4% significant strike defense rate (highest in middleweight), and relentless pressure, he’s landed 1465 significant strikes in UFC middleweight history, second-most overall. He’s also infamous for controversial comments on women’s rights, women’s MMA, and political figures, often clashing with media, like criticizing Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney campaign in 2022.
Dan Henderson, born August 24, 1970, in Downey, California, is an MMA legend with a 32-15 record. A Greco-Roman wrestler, he competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, winning three U.S. national titles. He co-founded Team Quest in 2000 with Randy Couture, later opening Dan Henderson’s Athletic Fitness Center in Temecula. Henderson won PRIDE welterweight and middleweight titles, the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, and fought in UFC from 1997 to 2016, retiring after a loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 204. His iconic knockout of Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009 earned Knockout of the Year. He coached Team USA on The Ultimate Fighter in 2009 and was inducted into the UFC and PRIDE Halls of Fame. Now 54, he coaches at Xtreme Couture, mentoring fighters like Strickland.
Strickland’s time at Team Quest spanned roughly 2013 to 2016, ending after Henderson’s retirement fight. Henderson warned Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick about Strickland’s behavior before he joined, but praised his potential, saying he could be a great teammate with guidance. Strickland’s known for intense sparring, seen in viral clips mauling influencers like Sneako and Nick Nayersina, and even pro fighters like Paddy Pimblett, though he’s earned respect from teammates like Brad Tavares for his work ethic. His frustration at Team Quest stemmed from teammates, including Keith Berry, a former Bellator fighter, prioritizing yoga over sparring, leading to “massive gym blowups,” per his comments.
A 2017 motorcycle accident left Strickland sidelined for two years, with doctors warning he might never fight again, but he returned in 2020, winning five straight UFC fights. Henderson praised this comeback, noting his mental toughness. Now at Xtreme Couture, Strickland trains daily, sparring with Henderson and others. He’s targeting a 2025 return, possibly against Shara Magomedov or Kevin Holland, aiming for another title shot after his UFC 302 win. Henderson continues coaching, with no confirmed tension, as both seem to have moved past the Team Quest drama.
