The often outspoken and seemingly bulletproof Sean Strickland has found himself trapped in a glass case of emotion over the last few days.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion had a pretty busy weekend, getting into a heated verbal confrontation with his first title challenger, Dricus Du Plessis, at the promotion’s Seasonal Press Conference before getting into an all-out brawl with ‘Stillknocks’ in the middle of UFC 296 on Saturday night.
The full incident between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at #UFC296 tonight.
Bring on #UFC297 in January! pic.twitter.com/HQt0Uj1jiv
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
It was a relatively on-brand turn of events for a fighter best known for doing and saying whatever he wants, whenever he wants. However, Strickland’s motivation for the sudden attack on Du Plessis inside T-Mobile Arena was nothing short of surprising.
During last Friday’s press event, Du Plessis has made an unnecessarily vile comment about Strickland’s history of growing up with an abusive father. Strickland later lambasted Dricus Du Plessis, showing that even the UFC’s most intense trash-talker has his limits.
Following the whirlwind weekend, Sean Strickland revealed that he had made an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s popular podcast, This Past Weekend, where his towering walls came crashing down. According to a series of posts on Strickland’s social media, the pair did a deep dive into his traumatic childhood, bringing the champ to tears in the process.
“So I did a podcast with Theo… goddamn wall broke a little bit, allergies started to act up,” Strickland wrote. “It wasn’t my finest moment… damn demons lol Idk what to do now… I think I need to go buy an iPhone and a tesla, adopt a cat, all vegan diet… maybe start f*cking dudes IDK.. LMAO”
So I did a podcast with Theo… goddamn wall broke a little bit, allergies started to act up.. It wasn't my finest moment… damn demons lol
Idk what to do now… I think I need to go buy an iPhone and a tesla, adopt a cat, all vegan diet… maybe start fucking dudes IDK.. LMAO
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 18, 2023
“It was bad,” he wrote in another post. “That little b*tch cry, you know the one were you prep talk yourself the whole time in your head… “stop it you p*ssy” “what the f*ck is wrong with you” “man up” lmao Think I almost bit a hole through my lip trying to stop haha…”
It was bad.. That little bitch cry, you know the one were you prep talk yourself the whole time in your head…
"stop it you pussy" "what the fuck is wrong with you" "man up" lmao
Think I almost bit a hole through my lip trying to stop haha… https://t.co/TDCBHthhux
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 18, 2023
Strickland followed that up with another post revealing that Von had offered to delete the footage of their conversation given the sensitive nature. After some strong consideration, ‘Tarzan’ appears to be open to the world seeing his softer side.
“PTSD can make a strong man weak or a weak man strong,” Strickland added. “Years and years of abuse just changes you as a man.. The hate just doesn’t go away. The sad truth is I’m one of millions but I only matter because there is a camera in my face… Most people just suffer in silence and drown their demons in alcohol or drugs.
“Theo thanks for saying you’d delete the video for me.. I wanted you to, hell still kinda do but at the end of the day.. it’s life….”
PTSD can make a strong man weak or a weak man strong.. Years and years of abuse just changes you as a man.. The hate just doesn't go away. The sad truth is I'm one of millions but I only matter because there is a camera in my face… Most people just suffer in silence and drown… pic.twitter.com/H24KDko6GV
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 19, 2023
Known for his hilarious, yet sometimes vile hot takes on a variety of topics, Sean Strickland has never really allowed the world to see his more human side. The closest fans got was following his shocking unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to claim his first world championship.
As the cards were read, Strickland showed the slightest hint of tearing up before regrouping and delivering another signature Strickland-esque promo to the live crowd in Australia.
Are you interested in seeing another side of Strickland when his podcast appearance with Theo Von drops?
