Tag: Sean Strickland

UFC CEO Dana White refuses to censor Sean Strickland: ‘Everybody can have their own opinion’

Dana WhiteDana White has absolutely no interest in censoring any members of his roster, including Sean Strickland. The former middleweight…

Dana White

Dana White has absolutely no interest in censoring any members of his roster, including Sean Strickland.

The former middleweight world champion rubbed a lot of fans and members of the media the wrong way ahead of his UFC 297 title defense against Dricus Du Plessis in Toronto. During a pre-fight media scrum, ‘Tarzan’ was asked about his past comments disparaging the LGBTQ community. Strickland, who has never been one to shy away from a confrontation, laid into the reporter who made the query, creating yet another viral moment that dominated much of the weekend’s headlines.

White, who is an outspoken advocate for free speech, accused the journalist of baiting Sean Strickland during a post-fight interview. He has since doubled down on his stance, adding that the UFC aims to provide a platform that allows anyone to express themselves any way they choose.

“We had a guy early on when the COVID thing started, Tyron Woodley. He came out in Black Lives Matter everything. I think he had Black Lives Matter socks on, covered head to toe in Black Lives Matter,” White said on The TRUTH Podcast with Vivek Ramaswamy, referencing a September 2020 situation with Woodley before his fight against Colby Covington. “At the press conference leading up to his fight, they would ask him a question and he would say, ‘Black Lives Matter.’ They’d ask him another one, (he’d answer) ‘Black Lives Matter.’ I didn’t say sh*t to him, knock yourself out.“

“This is America. Everybody can have their own opinion. I’m not telling anybody what to do, what to say, what to think, how to feel. We’re human beings in America, do your thing, knock yourself out, I’ve got the platform. People get pissed off, people get offended, people get this and that. We just had it happen with Sean Strickland.“

“We’re up in Canada. Sean Strickland said a lot of things. I don’t agree with 95 percent of what this guy says, but it’s his right to say it. And if you don’t like it, tune in on Saturday night, he’s gonna get punched in the face. If you don’t like him, you get to see him get punched in the face, so there you go. Don’t get too upset and don’t take it too serious” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Strickland came up short in his first title defense, surrendering the title to Du Plessis via a closely contested split decision. White has already ruled out an immediate rematch despite he himself believing that ‘Tarzan’ did enough to leave The Great White North with his title intact.

Ex-UFC star Luke Rockhold recounts sparring fight with ‘Idiot’ Sean Strickland: ‘He was such a loud-Mouth’

Luke Rockhold hits out at idiot Sean Strickland sparring he was such a loud mouth UFCFormer undisputed middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold has recounted a prior sparring session with fellow former divisional titleholder, Sean Strickland…

Luke Rockhold hits out at idiot Sean Strickland sparring he was such a loud mouth UFC

Former undisputed middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold has recounted a prior sparring session with fellow former divisional titleholder, Sean Strickland in the aftermath of UFC 297 – describing the outspoken contender as an out-and-out “idiot”.

Rockhold, a former undisputed middleweight champion under the banner of the UFC and the now-defunct, Strikeforce promotion, has been sidelined since he retired from mixed martial arts back in 2022.

Suffering a unanimous decision loss in his return to the Octagon, Santa Cruz native, Rockhold dropped a judging loss to former title chaser, Paulo Costa in his final outing in the UFC – before confirming his retirement.

Briefly featuring under the BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) banner, Rockhold fought fellow UFC veteran, Mike Perry back in April, suffering a second round retirement TKO loss to the Michigan native.

Luke Rockhold blasts rival, Sean Strickland

And reflecting on a prior sparring session with Strickland in the immediate aftermath of his championship loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297, Rockhold claimed the former was a “loud mouth” and an “idiot” – leading to a clash in the gym.

“He (Sean Strickland) was such a loud-mouth idiot,” Luke Rockhold told Rampage Jackson on the JAXXON Podcast. “Who the f*ck is this guy? I was so hung over. I was so annoyed I was like, ‘F*ck, I’m gonna get in and spar with this kid.’ I was like, ‘I can’t even take this.’”

“He’s a little tricky guy,” Luke Rockhold explained. “I went to the bathroom, I put [in] paper towel, I wrapped it around my teeth like and old school wet mouthpiece, and I was swallowing the thing, sparring him hungover. It was close round, I’d love to get him back out here again.” 

Sean Strickland’s coach hints live betting odds affected coaching advice ahead of UFC 297 title fight loss

Sean Strickland's coach claims live betting may have affected corner advice in UFC 297 title lossSean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick breaks down his judging during Strickland’s title fight against Dricus Du Plessis.  The UFC…

Sean Strickland's coach claims live betting may have affected corner advice in UFC 297 title loss

Sean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick breaks down his judging during Strickland’s title fight against Dricus Du Plessis. 

The UFC 297 main event between Du Plessis and Strickland ended in a bloody and completive five rounds. Du Plessis would end up having his hand raised and while some agreed, there was a large portion of fans who believe Strickland should have retained his title. 

Strickland would put out a statement believing that he had won the fight, which in fairness was incredibly close. 

Eric Nicksick reveals live betting odds could have swayed advice to Sean Strickland

Appearing on The Anik & Florian Podcast, Nicksick discussed the judging of the fight and revealed that the live odds could have swayed him into believing Sean Strickland had won rounds one and two.

“I initially thought we won rounds one and two,” Nicksick revealed. “Two being close, I didn’t know how they were going to score the takedowns, but I gotta admit, like, what kind of messed me up was I looked down at the apron, and they show the live odds, like the graphic on the- so I looked down and I saw, you know, we were -200 after the first round, minus -325 after the second round. I might be wrong, but I remember seeing the odds being in our favour.” (H/T MMA News)

“I’m like ‘Okay, so, if there’s people in the world that know what they saw, it’s people with money on it,” Nicksick continued. “You would think, So it reiterated my thoughts that we won round one and two. Again, this is MMA, it could change at any moment.”

Nicksick is a straight shooter, and while he cares for his fighters out of Xtreme Couture the 44-year-old is logical and honest. It’s commendable to see Nicksick discuss this kind of thing and show what makes him such a successful coach. 

It’s not clear what exactly Strickland will do next but a rematch does not seem out of the question. 

How did you score Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis?

Sean Strickland’s coach hints live betting odds affected coaching advice ahead of UFC 297 title fight loss

Sean Strickland's coach claims live betting may have affected corner advice in UFC 297 title lossSean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick breaks down his judging during Strickland’s title fight against Dricus Du Plessis.  The UFC…

Sean Strickland's coach claims live betting may have affected corner advice in UFC 297 title loss

Sean Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick breaks down his judging during Strickland’s title fight against Dricus Du Plessis. 

The UFC 297 main event between Du Plessis and Strickland ended in a bloody and completive five rounds. Du Plessis would end up having his hand raised and while some agreed, there was a large portion of fans who believe Strickland should have retained his title. 

Strickland would put out a statement believing that he had won the fight, which in fairness was incredibly close. 

Eric Nicksick reveals live betting odds could have swayed advice to Sean Strickland

Appearing on The Anik & Florian Podcast, Nicksick discussed the judging of the fight and revealed that the live odds could have swayed him into believing Sean Strickland had won rounds one and two.

“I initially thought we won rounds one and two,” Nicksick revealed. “Two being close, I didn’t know how they were going to score the takedowns, but I gotta admit, like, what kind of messed me up was I looked down at the apron, and they show the live odds, like the graphic on the- so I looked down and I saw, you know, we were -200 after the first round, minus -325 after the second round. I might be wrong, but I remember seeing the odds being in our favour.” (H/T MMA News)

“I’m like ‘Okay, so, if there’s people in the world that know what they saw, it’s people with money on it,” Nicksick continued. “You would think, So it reiterated my thoughts that we won round one and two. Again, this is MMA, it could change at any moment.”

Nicksick is a straight shooter, and while he cares for his fighters out of Xtreme Couture the 44-year-old is logical and honest. It’s commendable to see Nicksick discuss this kind of thing and show what makes him such a successful coach. 

It’s not clear what exactly Strickland will do next but a rematch does not seem out of the question. 

How did you score Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis?

Sean Strickland urges Jon Anik to retire from UFC commentary: ‘Maybe the NFL would be a better choice for you’

Sean Strickland urges Jon Anik to retire from UFC commentary maybe go to the NFLAmid claims from long-time UFC play-by-play lead, Jon Anik that he may call time on his tenure as the…

Sean Strickland urges Jon Anik to retire from UFC commentary maybe go to the NFL

Amid claims from long-time UFC play-by-play lead, Jon Anik that he may call time on his tenure as the promotion’s head commentator amid the influx of “malic” and rhetoric from a section of the mixed martial arts community, former middleweight champion, Sean Strickland has urged him to do just that.

Anik, a long-time play-by-play commentator for the promotion, who assumed lead role with the UFC following the departure of former lead, Mike Goldberg at the end of 2016, called the action in Strickland’s title fight loss to newly-minted gold holder, Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 earlier this month.

And sharing his thoughts on the recent influx of negativity and rhetoric spouting fans into the sport amid Strickland’s title fight loss to du Plessis, Anik claimed he was weighing up the prospect of exiting the promotion as a play-by-play commentator in the near future.

“Even if you and I [Kenny Florian] thought Dricus du Plessis won the fight, we try to present that information respectfully,” Jon Anik said. “And when I go onto X, or I go to our YouTube comments, it seems like a lot of these fans are just in attack mode, and I don’t know if these fans are casual fans or not, right?

“I appreciate the passion, but I’m getting to a point where I’m 45 years of age where I don’t know how much time I have left in this MMA space because if I go do pro-football like I’m not necessarily gonna be dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time, and I don’t know man, I just feel like there’s a lot of malice and disrespect from the fanbase,” Jon Anik explained.

Sean Strickland urges Jon Anik to retire from UFC commentary

And sharing his thoughts on Anik’s comments following his title fight defeat to Pretoria native, du Plessis – Strickland claimed the former should just go and commentate for the NFL, before backing his fans.

“What I’d say to Jon Anik calling MMA fans, ‘the lowest common denominator,” Sean Strickland posted on his official X account. “These people are way (sic) you have a paycheck, and you make way more than most. …Maybe the NFL is a better choice for you than MMA. …Also, you guys are a brunch of savage c*nts. I’m here for it….”

What are your thoughts on Sean Strickland’s comments on Jon Anik?

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 title fight loss: ‘You definitely beat me’

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 loss you definitely beat meNewly-minted undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis claims recent foe, Sean Strickland actually admitted he was beaten in the…

Dricus du Plessis accuses Sean Strickland of admitting UFC 297 loss you definitely beat me

Newly-minted undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis claims recent foe, Sean Strickland actually admitted he was beaten in the Octagon by the former – in the immediate aftermath of their UFC 297 title affair, despite questions of the scorecards issued in Canada.

du Plessis, the newly-crowned undisputed middleweight champion, headlined UFC 297 earlier this month in Toronto, landing the divisional title with a close, debated split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) win over the aforenoted, Strickland.

However, in the immediate aftermath of his title victory over the outspoken, Strickland, the now-former champion claimed that an inadvertent headbutt from du Plessis altered the sway of monument in the fight, alluding to the fact that he likely would have won if the clash of heads had not occurred. 

Dricus du Plessis reflects on Sean Strickland fight

Pretoria native, du Plessis now claims, however, that despite Strickland’s quipping on social media, the latter eventually admitted he was well beaten by the South African at UFC 297.

“He (Sean Strickland) came to me in the cage, and I think this is the first time publicly I’ll say this, he came to me in the cage,” Dricus du Plessis told SuperSport Unplugged during a recent interview. “Right before they announced me as the new champion, I went to him and I shook his hand, and I said, ‘You’re a warrior, well done, it was a great fight.”

“And he said, ‘No, you definitely beat me,” Dricus du Plessis explained. “He said to me, ‘You deserve it, you won that fight, you beat me.’ I also think so.”

Immediately following his win at UFC 297, du Plessis called for a title fight grudge match with former two-time undisputed middleweight gold holder, Israel Adesanya in the near future – claiming a member of his team informed him how the City Kickboxing staple would be available for a UFC 300 showdown in April. 

Who wins in a future title pairing: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?