Strickland Reveals He Nearly Shot Himself Playing Russian Roulette

Sean Strickland described a near-fatal Russian roulette incident from his younger years during a four-hour appearance on the Shawn Ryan podcast.

The UFC middleweight champion told Ryan that a woman named Jackie stopped him from pulling the trigger during what he called a moment of extreme adrenaline fixation. "I was like, 'We should do it.' And she's like, 'Sean, no. Don't do it.' And I was like, 'No, what are the odds? Like, one in six? One in six. That's good odds. I'd take those odds,'" Strickland said, per MMA Mania.

How A Woman Saved Strickland's Life

Strickland said he loaded a single round into a .38 revolver and spun the cylinder while speaking with Jackie. He worked himself up to squeeze the trigger before she intervened. "I'm working myself up to it. I'm having a conversation with her, I have every bit of adrenaline and dopamine just being saturated in my brain right now," he said. Jackie grabbed the gun from his hand while crying and threatened to leave if he ever tried again.

The champion said he opened the cylinder afterward to see where the round had been. "I was about to shoot myself in the head," he told Ryan. Strickland also revealed he no longer keeps revolvers accessible because handling them triggers suicidal thoughts.

The wide-ranging interview covered Strickland's troubled youth, substance abuse issues, and path to becoming a two-time UFC champion. He currently holds the middleweight title and has not announced his next defence date.

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• MMA Mania — Sean Strickland details disturbing Russian Roulette incident: ‘It still gives me chills’