Sean Strickland, a UFC fighter, recently responded to jabs about his abusive childhood. These comments came from fellow fighters Sean O’Malley and Dricus Du Plessis.
Strickland is the current middleweight titleholder in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s had several unpleasant exchanges with O’Malley, the bantamweight champion, and Du Plessis. Strickland is set to defend his belt against Du Plessis at UFC 297 next month. The exchanges took place during the UFC’s seasonal press conference in Las Vegas.
The banter started with Strickland mocking O’Malley. He made a derogatory comment about O’Malley’s wife. O’Malley responded with a crude remark about Strickland’s father.
This led to Strickland launching into a profanity-laden tirade against O’Malley. He was eventually cut off by UFC CEO Dana White. Strickland criticized the UFC, lamenting the lack of “real men” in the sport. He also made disparaging remarks about O’Malley.
Later in the press conference, Strickland targeted Du Plessis. He made comments about Du Plessis’s coach. Du Plessis responded by referencing Strickland’s abusive past. He threatened to bring back Strickland’s traumatic childhood memories in their upcoming fight.
Strickland later posted a heartfelt note on Twitter. He criticized both O’Malley and Du Plessis for making light of child abuse. He expressed his disappointment in their behavior and showed his support for victims of abuse.
Strickland’s note stressed the impact of trauma on a person’s life. He called out O’Malley and Du Plessis for their lack of understanding and empathy. He ended his note by stating that they will never understand the struggle of living with such demons.