Sporting a new look, Sean Strickland was his usual unhinged self during Wednesday’s UFC 312 media day.
On Saturday, the former UFC middleweight champion will look to reclaim the crown when he runs it back with Dricus Du Plessis inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Strickland and Du Plessis will headline the promotion’s return to The Land Down Under, but first, both fighters addressed members of the media.
Needless to say, Strickland ruled the day once again with his hot takes which usually range from mildly humorous to downright vile.
This time, Strickland decided to take the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
On December 4, Thompson was murdered in New York City, allegedly by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. According to reports, Mangione’s motivation for the killing was directly related to the status of the health insurance system in the United States, though Mangione has not made any public statements regarding his motivation. However, bullet cases found at the scene had the words “delay”, “deny”, and “depose” carved into them.
The words are strikingly similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend”, a phrase in the industry alluding to insurance companies’ efforts to not pay out claims.
UnitedHealthcare reportedly has the highest denial rate of any insurance provider in the United States.
Sean Strickland condemns the murder of CEO brian thompson … sort of
Addressing Thompson’s murder, Strickland made it clear that he does not condone killing and even showed empathy for the family’s loss. However, ‘Tarzan’ was quick to point out that corporations, like the one Thompson ran, are equally responsible for murdering people every single day.
“Murder’s wrong in some regards, you know, but it’s so hard because, like, I would say that I’m an American free-market capitalist,” Strickland said at the UFC 312 media day. “But when you have these corporations that own the government, you know, and they just—like, you don’t really have recourse. No one gives a f*ck.
“And yeah, dude, it sucks that you died. You got a kid. You know, I’m sure the kid’s going to miss you. Real f*cking sad, but like… you know, real sad, dude. How many guys got denied, you know? How many guys? So, like, murder’s bad in some regards. And, you know, I wish you didn’t have to get killed for this conversation not to take place. But the fact of the matter is that corporations murder people every f*cking day. We don’t live in a free market. We live in a monopoly that is controlled by these corporations and it only took one man with a supressor and a dream.”
Mangione was captured at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania five days after the murder. He has been charged with second-degree murder and three counts of illegal weapons possession. Mangione officially entered a plea of not guilty on December 23.
UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland has once again captured attention with his outspoken remarks, this time expressing support for…
