Sean Strickland may be one of the more difficult fighters to spar in all of MMA. That’s because the UFC middleweight holds nothing back in training.
Just ask the many noses he has broken throughout fight camp.
Strickland, who is 4-0 since making his move to middleweight in 2020, is currently scheduled to welcome former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold back to the division at UFC 268 this November. It’s easily the biggest fight of Strickland’s MMA career and one that could launch him into the top five at 185 pounds.
With a big fight on the horizon Strickland has once again turned up the heat in training. Remember, Strickland landed himself in a little bit of hot water back in June when he landed a spinning back fist during a sparring session after his partner tried a “dirty submission.”
In the above video (via Instagram), Strickland can been seen sparring 2019 PFL light heavyweight champion Emiliano Sordi. Strickland is known to go a little hard in sparring, but this session was particularly damaging. The UFC middleweight can be heard screaming obscenities at Sordi while winging wild punches in hopes of a connection.
“Some days you want to make people bleed, some days you want to bleed,” wrote Strickland. “That day was a little bit of both for me… lol GREAT scrap with the million dollar man, thanks for indulging my therapy sessions…”
That old “iron sharpens iron” saying applies to many situations in the world of professional fighting, but Strickland’s actions seem a little unwarranted. Maybe he’s doing absolutely everything he can to become the best middleweight in the world, whether or not that comes at the expense of his training partners.
What say you, Maniacs? Is Strickland’s recent sparring video a bit excessive?
Sound off!