Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion. As of January 16, 2024, he is #8 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Sean Strickland grew up in Corona, California, in a household with a physically and mentally abusive father. During Strickland’s early childhood, he attacked his father with a guitar in an attempt to defend his mother. Strickland fled from his house and contacted his local law enforcement leading to his father being briefly arrested. However, the next day his father was released from jail as his mother paid for his bail.

In Strickland’s adolescence, he developed a close relationship with his grandfather who had ideologically neo-Nazi views. He adopted his grandfather’s views, which were further reinforced through his viewing of the film American History X. Strickland stated regarding the characters in the film, “I loved the life they lived, just dirty, white trash, to have respect, you know? When I was a kid, that was somebody I would hero-worship, that ideology.”

Strickland recalled that he was expelled from school in the ninth grade for perpetrating a hate crime, after which his mother decided to take him to an MMA gym. He met people of different races whilst training who helped him and this motivated him to abandon the ideology. Strickland stated, “Then I started training and the moment I started training I was like, fuck man, I don’t hate anybody. Everyone’s cool. Then a lot of people who helped me out in my life, they weren’t white.”

At the age of 18, Strickland had another violent altercation with his father again resulting in police involvement however no charges were pressed. Following this event, Strickland and his mother moved out of his father’s house.

Early career

Strickland made his professional debut in 2008 for the King of the Cage promotion and compiled an undefeated record of 9–0 before facing Josh Bryant in a fight for the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship at KOTC: Unification on December 9, 2012. Strickland won via split decision, and then successfully defended his title three times before being signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Strickland made his UFC debut at UFC 171 on March 15, 2014, facing Bubba McDaniel. Strickland won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Strickland made his next appearance at UFC Fight Night 41 against Luke Barnatt on May 31, 2014. Strickland won via split decision.

Strickland faced Santiago Ponzinibbio in a welterweight bout on February 22, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 61.Strickland lost the back and forth fight via unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Igor Araújo on July 15, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 71.He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Alex Garcia on February 21, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 83. After a back-and-forth first two rounds, Strickland won the fight via TKO in the third round.

Strickland next faced Tom Breese on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He won the fight via split decision.

Strickland was expected to face Tim Means on August 20, 2016, at UFC 202. However Strickland pulled out of the fight in early August citing a knee injury. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Sabah Homasi.

Strickland faced Kamaru Usman on April 8, 2017, at UFC 210. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Court McGee on November 11, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 120. This fight was back and forth for all three rounds and was initially announced a majority draw with scores of 30-27, 29-29, and 29-29.After the fight it was revealed there was an error in calculating the judges' scorecards and Strickland was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on May 12, 2018, at UFC 224. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Strickland faced Nordine Taleb on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Strickland became a free agent after the fight by fighting out his contract.

Return from injury

Returning from a two-year layoff after a motorcycle accident, Strickland was scheduled to face Wellington Turman on October 31, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 181.However on September 29, Turman pulled out due to COVID-19 sequelae that rendered him unable to train after his two-week quarantine ended on September 2, and he was replaced by Jack Marshman. At the weight-ins, Marshman weighed in at 187.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Marshman was fined 20% of his purse, which went to Strickland. Strickland won the fight via unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Brendan Allen on November 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. He won the fight via technical knockout. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Strickland faced Krzysztof Jotko on May 1, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Strickland was expected to face Uriah Hall on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265. However on June 4, 2021, the bout with Hall was moved to headline UFC on ESPN 28 on July 31, 2021. During his training camp in the build up to this fight, he got into a physical altercation with sparring partner Orlando Sanchez, who he accused of trying to injure him. Strickland defeated Hall via unanimous decision.

Strickland was scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold on November 6, 2021, at UFC 268. However, on October 11 Rockhold withdrew due to a herniated disc.

Strickland faced Jack Hermansson on February 5, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 200. He won the fight via split decision. 21 out of 21 media outlets scored the fight for Strickland. Judge Sal D'Amato, who scored the fight 48-47 for Hermansson, received widespread criticism for his scorecard.

Strickland was scheduled to face Alex Pereira on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277.However, the promotion moved the pairing to UFC 276 on July 2, 2022. Strickland lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Strickland was scheduled to face Jared Cannonier on October 15, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 212. However, the bout was scrapped after Strickland withdrew due to a finger infection. The pair was rebooked for UFC Fight Night 216 on December 17, 2022. Strickland lost the fight via split decision.

In a quick turnaround, Strickland faced Nassourdine Imavov, replacing Kelvin Gastelum in a light heavyweight bout on January 14, 2023, at UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Strickland faced Abusupiyan Magomedov on July 1, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 48. Strickland won the fight via TKO in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

UFC Middleweight Championship

Strickland faced Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship on September 10, 2023, at UFC 293. He won the fight via unanimous decision in what was considered a major upset, as Adesanya was a 7/1 betting favorite. The win also earned Strickland his third Performance of the Night bonus award.

Strickland is expected to make his first title defense against Dricus du Plessis on January 20, 2024 at UFC 297. The pair were in attendance at UFC 296 on December 16, 2023, seated within two rows of each-other by Dana White's arrangement. While exchanging words, Strickland gestured for audience members to move and attacked Du Plessis. The brawl was quickly broken up and Strickland was escorted out of the event.

Fighting in a notably upright, orthodox stance Sean Strickland is distinguished for his defensive striking. This is evident in the UFC’s official Significant Strike Defense statistic, where he boasts a 65.4% defense rate—the highest among active fighters in the middleweight division.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan stated regarding Sean Strickland’s defense, “He spars more than anybody in the UFC and they put a mouthpiece that measures how many times you get hit. He gets hit less than anyone [and] he’s got phenomenal defense.”

Central to Strickland’s defensive approach is his incorporation of the Philly Shell guard, referring to the positioning of the lead hand on the lower torso and the back hand closer to the side of the face. This allows Strickland to fight defensively, deflecting strikes with his raised lead shoulder as well as actively parrying strikes and checking kicks.

Offensively, Sean Strickland prefers to utilize his boxing within his fights. Strickland applies pressure by constantly walking forwards and forcing his opponents into boxing range, in which he then applies jabs often in volume and followed by a right cross.

Strickland generally applies his wrestling defensively to great effect, with a high takedown defense statistic of 84%. Strickland may pursue top position to engage in powerful ground and pound.

In 2017, Strickland's father died from cancer at the age of 50. Strickland had maintained minimal interaction with his father since his childhood. He has a positive and close relationship with his mother.

In December 2018, Strickland was hit by a car while he was riding a motorcycle in Los Angeles, rendering him unconscious. He suffered numerous injuries and needed a knee operation after the accident.

Strickland is training partners and close friends with fellow UFC middleweight Chris Curtis.

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Middleweight Championship (One time, current)
  • Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Brendan Allen, Abus Magomedov, and Israel Adesanya
  • Second lowest bottom position percentage in UFC Middleweight division history (0.51%)
  • Fifth most significant strikes landed in UFC Middleweight division history (982)
  • Third most strikes landed per minute in UFC Middleweight division history (6.08)
  • Fifth highest significant strike defense percentage in UFC Middleweight division history (65.4%)
  • Most significant strikes attempted in a UFC Middleweight bout (428)
    • Third most significant strikes attempted in a UFC Middleweight bout (400)
  • Most significant head strikes landed in a UFC Middleweight bout (173)
• King of the Cage
  • KOTC Middleweight Championship (One time)
    • Five successful title defenses
• MMAjunkie.com
  • 2020 Comeback Fighter of the Year
  • 2023 Male Fighter of the Year
• Sherdog
  • 2020 Comeback Fighter of the Year