Sean Strickland has become one of the most popular fighters in the UFC over the last several years. His notoriety increased in September when he scored one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history when he went on the road and dominated Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight championship in Sydney, Australia, in the main event of UFC 293.
But his popularity is also because he's the kind of guy who will say whatever he's thinking whenever it comes into his read, regardless of who it offends or who he's speaking with. He has a unique perspective on things that sets him apart from a majority of his peers.
He'll defend his newly won title on Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto in the main event of UFC 297 when he faces Dricus du Plessis. Strickland is 28-5 overall, but seems to be a vastly better fighter since he returned from a motorcycle accident that kept him out of the Octagon for two full years, from Oct. 27, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2020.
His coach, Eric Nicksick, attributed his improvement to realizing what he nearly lost from the accident.
"I would say he's come to understand the fragility of life," Nicksick said. "The thing he loves the most in this world is obviously fighting and that was almost taken away from him with that accident. I think due to that accident, it really changed his outlook on training, and the way he spars and the way he treats his teammates. Definitely, I think you can point to that accident as the epicenter of what he is today."
Strickland was asked the same question. He was 5-3 as a welterweight in the UFC, all prior to the accident. His first two fights in the UFC were wins at middleweight, but he then chose to drop down. When he returned from his accident, he fought exclusively at middleweight, and has gone 9-2, making him 11-2 overall in the UFC as a middleweight. One of those two losses was a knockout by Alex Perreira, who is now the UFC's light heavyweight champion. The other was a close and controversial decision loss to Jared Cannonier.
The difference in him is stark at 185 pounds compared to 170 pounds. As he tries to explain why he's a better middleweight, he first brings up the weight cut holding him back. But then he veers into Strickland-land where he tries to explain the world in his own terms.
"One of the biggest struggles that people have being a fighter is because generally, if you're a fighter, you're a f*cking loser," Strickland said. "You're a f*cking loser. I mean, you don't have a job. You don't really have a career. Like, you build your entire identity around one thing: 'I am fighter. I am a fighter!' Anyway, I tried so hard to hold onto that where I was like, 'I need to go down to welterweight. I need to train six times a day.
"After my motorcycle accident, you know there's still significant damage I still have. I mean, it's hard for me to drive in a car ... but I kind of let go of the identity of me being a fighter. You know, having the identity of being a fighter kind of makes me personally not perform like I should. Whereas now, I just kind of enjoy it. I'm enjoying what I'm doing."
He didn't enjoy the comments that du Plessis made on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas at the UFC's seasonal news conference to announce upcoming fights. Du Plessis brought up that Strickland's father used to beat him and Strickland became angered, and the two eventually had to be separated.
"One of the biggest struggles that people have being a fighter is because generally, if you're a fighter, you're a f*cking loser. You're a f*cking loser. I mean, you don't have a job. You don't really have a career. Like, you build your entire identity around one thing: 'I am fighter. I am a fighter!'"
Sean Strickland, UFC middleweight champion
The next day, during the main card of UFC 296, Strickland and du Plessis were seated near each other. Strickland politely asked UFC fighter Gilbert Burns' wife and children to move so they wouldn't get hurt, and then launched himself at du Plessis, starting a minor brawl.
On his YouTube channel, Strickland threatened du Plessis if he spoke that way again.
But when it was later brought up to Strickland that there is bad blood between du Plessis and himself, he insisted there is not.
He said they had a conversation and that there are no hard feelings.
"Here's the thing: People always think there's bad blood, but I talked to Dricus after and he understands," Strickland told keviniole.com. "It's funny because people see me fight and they think there's bad blood between us. But I fight all the time. I fight my friends. I fought my brother.
"It needed to happen and it was supposed to happen, and I'm pretty sure he orchestrated it to happen. But there's no bad blood. He's a stand-up guy. I liked him before the fight. I'll like him after the fight."
His teammates at Xtreme Couture like him before, during and after fights. Strickland, Nicksick said, is the ultimate teammate, who finds a way to support each of those on his team. The coaches at Xtreme Couture split the pro sparring, so the bigger fighters are in the morning and the smaller ones in the afternoon.
Strickland will leave after his sparring is over, Nicksick told keviniole.com, but will return to watch the smaller fighters spar and encourage them.
"Like anybody, there are two sides to him," Nicksick said. "But he's a guy who has a heart, who cares about his friends and teammates. He's a guy who, when he gives you his word, you know he's good for it. If you talk trash to him, he's going to fight you and he doesn't care who's around. But he's a guy his teammates love because he's there for them and supports them fully, and he'll do whatever he can to help them. He's a guy his friends and the people he's close with know they can rely upon."
His teammates swear by him and you won't find one of them with a harsh word to say about him. Featherweight Dan Ige not only gushes about him, but will probably have Strickland in his corner for his next fight.
Strickland is honest to a fault, Ige said, and wants to help so badly he'll say whatever he feels he needs to in order to make one better.
"He’s the opposite of a yes man," Ige said. "He’ll tell you the blunt truth to your face. And he pushes everyone in the room to be better. He’s truly a great teammate."
He's proven to be a great fighter, as well. For all of his outrageousness, that often gets lost. He's 28-5 and has not only beaten Adesanya in one-sided fashion, he has wins over the likes of Brendan Allen, as well.
A win over du Plessis on Saturday will further cement his legacy, regardless of whatever crazy things might come out of his mouth before or after.
"You're right, you never know what might come out of his mouth," Nicksick said, laughing. "But when the bell rings, he's going to give you everything he has and when he does that, he's a damn good fighter."