In the blink of an eye, Sean Strickland went from grappling to all-out fighting during a recent training session.
Strickland is preparing for his upcoming fight against Uriah Hall later this summer. Facing a dynamic striker in Hall, Strickland recognized that honing his grappling skills will be critical if he wants to defeat Hall. But a recent grappling training session at Team RVCA gym in Costa Mesa didn’t go as planned.
While working on his grappling with Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion Orlando Sanchez, Strickland allowed Sanchez to get a hold of his arm while the two were battling for underhooks. Sanchez then applied a standing armbar on Strickland’s arm, and Strickland lost it.
Strickland immediately broke the grip, firing a back-fist at Sanchez, catching him caught off guard with the shot. Strickland then followed up with a kick to the body. YouTube user Just DeWitte uploaded a video of the incident. In the video, you can see the entire exchange, as well as Strickland cursing at Sanchez. (H/T Bloody Elbow)
“Oh you motherf*cker! What the f*ck?!” yelled Strickland. “Why bro? Why? Why? Get away from me. Get away. Bro, what the f*ck man? Why dude?”
Sanchez was genuinely surprised by Strickland’s reaction, asking Strickland what he’d supposedly done wrong. Strickland then yells that “you f*cking know what you did.”
Sanchez retorts that he was going for a standing armbar, a move that would seem acceptable in a grappling session. Strickland, however, disagreed, calling it a “d*ck move.”
“How the f*ck is it a d*ck move, it’s grappling?!” cried Sanchez.
“I’ve got a f*cking fight coming up dude and you’re trying to hyper-extend my arm,” replied Strickland. “Let’s be honest… that’s dirty bro, we all know that’s dirty,” he added.
After tempers had cooled a bit, the two tried to resume grappling, but Strickland was over it, ending the session early.
Strickland would later post a clip of the video to his Instagram account, citing that both men were over the dispute.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJkjF9Jt5D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Do you think Sean Strickland was justified in his actions against Orlando Sanchez during their grappling session?
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