Say what you will about UFC middleweight Sean Strickland, but it’s undeniable that he wants to be the best and train against the best in the sport.
Strickland is set to face Jack Hermansson in his second-straight UFC main event next month. Last year, he defeated Urijah Hall in an impressive victory. Strickland was then scheduled to face former champion, Luke Rockhold before Rockhold pulled out due to an injury ahead of UFC 268.
Strickland is as competitive as they get in the sport, even against his teammates such as UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick revealed what it’s like to have him competing in the gym.
“That dude will literally spar anybody in our gym,” Nicksick said of Strickland. “He calls Francis out every sparring session. He loves to spar Francis because he goes ‘I want to feel as close to death as possible and I want to have that fear of God in my heart every time I spar a guy like Francis Ngannou.’ So sure, we throw him in there and let him get some rounds with Francis.”
“You want to have competition in the training room. Now Sean’s delivery is never the best. He doesn’t deliver things nicely to people, but when you boil things down, the way Sean talks to his teammates or some of the people in the room, it’s really because he cares and he wants to get the best out of you.”
Sean Strickland Is No Stranger To Controversy
Despite Strickland’s confidence and work ethic, he’s turned off some UFC fans due to his brash personality and tendency to take things over the line on social media. During a recent Twitter rant, Strickland alluded that if he were to have a homosexual son, he would feel he had failed as a father.
This caused quite the stir on social media and had many calling for the UFC to step in and dish out some sort of penalty for his comments.
Regardless of his actions outside of the cage, there’s no question that Strickland is right in the thick of things in the middleweight division. If he’s able to earn another impressive win over Hermansson, he could earn a title shot sooner rather than later.
What is your prediction for Sean Strickland vs. Jack Hermansson?