Sean Strickland, a former UFC champ with a big mouth, is stepping up to help his friend Bryce Mitchell. On March 17, 2025, he posted on X with some straight-up advice after Bryce started talking about scary dreams full of demons. Mitchell’s got a huge fight coming against Jean Silva at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, and Sean thinks those nightmares might be messing with his head. He’s keeping it real, saying therapy could fix Bryce up instead of blaming the devil for everything.
Bryce’s Demon Drama
Mitchell’s been loud lately about weird stuff. On March 17, he dropped an Instagram video saying demons attack him every night since the UFC 314 press conference on March 7 in Las Vegas. He asked fans to pray for him because the dreams keep him from sleeping right.
Sean saw that and jumped in with his take.
“I love Bryce…. don’t hold this against me but therapy would do him wonders. If every time I had an Intrusive thought I thought, ‘Oh, it’s the devil,’ I’d lose my mind. Intrusive thoughts aren’t the devil Bryce. Probably just fight anxiety manifesting itself in fu*ked up thoughts,” Strickland said.
He’s guessing it’s just nerves about the fight, not some spooky evil.
I love Bryce…. don’t hold this against me but therapy would do him wonders
If everytime I had an Intrusive thought i thought “oh it’s the devil” id lose my mind.
Intrusive thoughts aren’t the devil Bryce.. Probably just fight anxiety manifesting itself in fucked up thoughts
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) March 17, 2025
Fight Nerves or Something Else?
Bryce has been rattled since that press conference. Silva got in his face, mocked his flat Earth rants with a globe, and had the crowd yelling at him. Now Mitchell says those bad dreams flip between demons picking fights and tempting him with women. Sean’s not buying the demon angle. He figures it’s the stress of facing Silva, who’s on a knockout streak, turning Bryce’s brain into a mess at night.
Sean’s no stranger to wild thoughts himself. He’s 29 and 7 in MMA, a former middleweight king who lost his belt to Dricus Du Plessis in February 2025 at UFC 312. He’s famous for saying off-the-wall stuff, like joking about AI or Nazis, but he’s serious about helping Bryce. Therapy’s his fix, not prayers or exorcisms.
Mitchell, 30, from Arkansas, is 17 and 2 with a fresh knockout over Kron Gracie in December 2024 at UFC 310. Silva, 28, from Brazil, is 17 and 0, all finishes, including Melsik Baghdasaryan in February 2025. They’re set to scrap at Miami’s Kaseya Center, and Sean wants Bryce sharp, not spooked.
