It all began with a comedy bit. By the end, it had turned into a public back-and-forth with one of the UFC’s most unpredictable characters. When Preacher Lawson told a story about sparring with Sean Strickland, most people felt it was just stand-up exaggeration. However, they misjudged two things: how fiercely ‘Tarzan’ spars and how closely he listens.

Lawson’s routine depicted the scene perfectly. A vegan tee. A gym packed with killers. A former middleweight champion searches the room for “that new guy.” The punchline? Lawson is thrown across the ring, pondering his life choices. However, once the clip went viral, Sean Strickland decided to respond.

Sean Strickland responds to Preacher Lawson’s bizarre sparring tale

In his stand-up routine, Preacher Lawson recalls stepping into the gym and instantly attracting Sean Strickland’s attention. “You know how to fight?” Strickland supposedly asked him. The America’s Got Talent star acknowledged, “A little bit.” That was good enough for Strickland. Soon, he found himself in a ring with many others cycling in—and ‘Tarzan’ looking for him.

What the optimism inside Lawson expected was a light round. But according to his story, it turned violent quickly. “He tried to knock me out immediately,” Lawson said, describing haymakers, panic, and then being clipped so hard he went airborne. “I go flying, bro… I didn’t know what hit me. I was like, ‘What’s going on? Why is Jesus here?’”

He further claimed that he was even struck in the back of the head. Something that made him hit an inner monologue that never came out, “‘You do that again, you ain’t gonna make it out this ring alive, my boy.’ Now, obviously, I ain’t say it out loud, but like, you can clearly tell by the way I was crying that he should never in his life try that again.” However, Sean Strickland wasn’t going to let that detail slide.

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On social media, he responded, “Couple things… 1. You’re big and black, I just assumed you were a bada– boxer. 2. You kept putting your head down, and the only shot was behind your ear, which was clean. But I was right about one thing!!! You are big and black.” In typical Sean Strickland fashion, the tone was blunt, unabashed, and slightly chaotic. That’s when Preacher Lawson did something unexpected: he admitted he embellished things a little.

In a subsequent video, he clarified, “You did say that you hit me behind the ear, which is legal. That’s true.” He further added, “You did not hit me in the back of the head. I made it up. I made it up because I thought it would be funny, and I didn’t think you’d see it.” The exchange never turned ugly. And good things came out of it.

Preacher Lawson has a killer story. Sean Strickland got to defend his gym’s honor. And somewhere in the middle, fans were reminded that sparring with a former UFC champion for content may not be the safest creative decision. And if you still have doubts about it, ask the former middleweight champion’s previous victim, who left the ring bleeding from the nose.

Lawson survived the brutal aftermath once suffered by Sneako

If Preacher Lawson needed proof that things could have been worse, he did not have to look far. Last year, Sean Strickland fought influencer Sneako at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. The session did not end with punchlines. It ended in blood.

Sneako, who had been toying with the idea of influencer boxing, suddenly learned what “light sparring” is when the opponent is a former UFC champion. ‘Tarzan’ marched him down, picked his shots, and landed virtually at will. Sneako mostly shelled up while his corner yelled instructions that never translated into defense.

By the time it was stopped, his nose was bleeding, and the lack of experience was painfully clear. To his credit, he stayed standing—but this may be the only positive takeaway. Lawson’s story takes on a different meaning because of the context. He didn’t leave the ring with a broken nose or a viral video of him being demolished.

Instead, he left with some comedy material and a battered ego. Sean Strickland, meanwhile, continues to spar like he has something to prove as he prepares for his return at UFC Houston. The comedy may have eased the edges this time, but the lesson remains the same: going to Strickland’s gym is never just content.