Sean Strickland, the former Former UFC Middleweight Champion, has acknowledged that he has mental health issues.

Strickland has been vocal about his upbringing after being brought up in an abusive environment at the hands of his father.

“My dad gets on top of my mom and I remember he said ‘I’m going to f*****g kill you tonight.’ Maybe it’s just rough sex, we don’t know at this moment. I’m under the bed and he starts strangling her. I get out and the only thing I can see is a guitar, I just f******g crack him in the head and call the cops. [And] I run down the street to call the cops, he’s arrested and my dumb ass mom bails him out of jail. I would say that’s the tip of the iceberg,” Strickland said 

Fast-forward to today and the MMA fighter is one of the best in the UFC. He comprehensively beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to win the middleweight title. While he lost the belt in his first defense against Dricus Du Plessis, Strickland has been making headlines in other ways.

Strickland Reacts

He was criticised for beating up influencer Sneako during a sparring session. Jake Paul responded, branding the UFC fighter a bully. The Problem Child offered Strickland the chance to spar him, with the winner getting $1 million. Strickland ruled it out, stating his UFC contract would prevent a fight. But he did controversially issue Paul with a death threat. Joe Rogan was also critical of Strickland for sparring with Sneako. Now, the MMA fighter has had his say on his conduct.

“I’m a little mentally unstable, Its important to be surrounded with people who understand you and help I’ll wake up some days wanting to strangle a puppy “Sean are you doing ok? Yes I’m good, I’m so happy! If im happy it’s harder for me to see how understable I am,” Strickland stated 

Strickland’s Controversies

Nevertheless, Strickland has had several controversial moments, which have seen him scrutinised. During an appearance at a Power Slap event, Strickland confronted the rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Some heated words were exchanged during their altercation, with worries that Strickland could have lashed out. Once the dust had settled, Strickland called out the rapper, calling him the ‘devil.’ 

“I almost hit a vampire tonight… lol! They said his name is machine gun kelly..  How do you have a dope ass name and dress like a 13 goth south park character?!?” Strickland said 

“You guys what the f**k is going on………. Transformers Megan Fox is with that thing….. what the actual f**k has happened to the world?! What did I miss? Is she OK? Is this man the devil? @meganfox are you ok? Do you need assistance?” Strickland added

In addition, for his build up in the Du Plessis fight, Strickland assaulted the South African. They had both attended Leon Edwards’ welterweight title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296. Strickland approached his opponent and began punching him before security intervened. But one thing Strickland has shown is that he can command a fanbase, and his conduct has contributed to that.