Sean Strickland has an engaging personality. Which usually leaves him saying something intriguing. Now he is in Australia, ready to fight for the middleweight title. Strickland goes into the contest as a massive underdog. During the buildup to the fight with Israel Adesanya, Strickland has been up to his usual antics.
Sean Strickland The Underdog
Strickland has always been known for being quite eccentric. He says what he wants and doesn’t care what people think about him. The American fighter has said some quite controversial things over time. It would always be interesting to see what sort of things Strickland would get up to this week. It is his first time being in the main event of a pay-per-view. Of course, this comes with more media interactions. It means there were many more opportunities for Strickland to show his personality. Whilst in Australia, he has already had an interaction with a fan. That resulted in Strickland punching him. What made it even more interesting is that Strickland broke the news himself.
The Incident With The Fan
Strickland is always open and honest. Which means he was very candid about what he had done. Speaking to Fox Sports Australia, Strickland explained the interaction.
“I’d only been in Australia a day, and already I’d committed an assault,” Strickland alleged. “Because anybody who wants a photo, I love the fans. But if you wanna come up to me and run your mouth, I’ll smack you like I smack anybody else.”
Quotes via MMA News
What Does The Boss Think
UFC President Dana White has seen it all throughout his time with the UFC. Due to Strickland’s character, it came as no surprise for the boss. He expected something like this to go down. White explained his thoughts on the situation at a contender’s series post-fight press conference.
“Do you know where the news came from that he punched a fan?” White said. “Yeah, (the news came from him). Yeah, he’s beauty. He played it up more than whatever and was jokingly. … The fan and him are cool. Going into this, I knew. I knew what this week was going to be like. Yes, we’re prepared for it, and yes, we have people around him now so that he won’t be punching people in the stomach anymore – for fun or not for fun.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
It is going to be a tough challenge for Strickland this Saturday at UFC 293. However, it would be the most significant upset in UFC history if he were to pull it off.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
