Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has built a reputation for spewing counterculture — or simply dumb — thoughts in the lead-up to his fights. Well, he is back at it again ahead of this Saturday’s UFC 312 card.
There is no denying that Sean Strickland is one of the very best 185-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world. As a middleweight, he has a 9-3 record inside the Octagon and has scored victories over Nassourdine Imavov, former title challenger Paulo Costa, and division legend Israel Adesanya.
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His championship win in 2023 proved how elite his fight skills are. However, for as respected as he is inside the cage, the 33-year-old has become a very divisive personality outside the Octagon. For years, Strickland has shown little filter when it comes to speaking the thoughts in his mind. And they often end up being controversial.
That again happened this week ahead of his UFC 312 return during a conversation with “Full Send MMA” when Strickland took a moment to explain why he is supportive of Luigi Mangione. The man who brutally murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
- Sean Strickland record: 29-6 (11 knockouts, 4 submissions)
Sean Strickland goes on an ugly rant about Luigi Mangione ahead of UFC 312 return
“I’m about my boy Luigi. Here’s the thing, I’m a free market capitalist but the problem is these corporations, they’ve infected the government and it ain’t right. Luigi, man I’ll go donate to your fund right now. I hope you get off. You did the right thing. At the end of the day, f*** that guy. We need some more Luigi’s in this world and the world would be a better place.”
Mangione used a ghost gun to assassinate Thompson in December over frustration with the very questionable tactics of health insurance companies to deny coverage for certain ailments. The 26-year-old is one of many who have been a victim of this horrible practice.
Nevertheless, cold-blooded murder is no way to respond to the frustration and the UFC star’s support is in terrible taste. It also comes as a bad time. Fellow UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell was slammed publicly by company president Dana White for bizarre comments in support of Adolf Hitler last week. One has to wonder if Sean Strickland will be getting a call from his boss as well soon.
Also Read: Where does Sean Strickland land in our latest UFC middleweight rankings