On Wednesday, Paddy Pimblett’s former opponent Jared Gordon turned heads with a surprising social media post. On X, the veteran UFC lightweight posted that he would be sparring some “kid” who challenged him on Instagram on Thursday, the day after he made the post. Gordon also urged fans to join him live on KICK, giving off warning signs that a terrible beating could be coming the troll’s way. And as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened. 

Social media account Happy Punch posted a clip of the viral training session on X where a man named Rohan, who had previously trolled Gordon on Instagram, showed up at Kill Cliff FC for the highly anticipated sparring session.

“I think I got this, you know,” Rohan said in the viral clip. “I’ve been training for UFC for a while.” 

Listening to the internet troll mixing up MMA training with UFC, another streamer, Steven Strangles, who was on referee duty, sarcastically said, “He said training UFC… so we know he’s good.” 

The footage later showed Jared Gordon fearing the consequences of a potential “lawsuit,” so he decided to take it easy on the internet troll. Even so, the 37-year-old ended up decimating Rohan. The UFC lightweight could be seen working at a very slow pace while still rocking the young troll with punches, body kicks, and leg kicks. At one point, Gordon even landed a flush head kick on Rohan’s face without putting much power behind it, nearly sending the internet streamer crashing to the floor.  Somehow, he managed to survive the onslaught without getting flatlined. 

However, it would be safe to say that Gordon held back considerably to avoid doing any real damage to Rohan. Later, the footage showed Rohan sitting tiredly on the floor, probably contemplating just how bad a decision it was to challenge Jared Gordon, who has fought most seasoned lightweights and arguably defeated now-top-five 155-pounder Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282.

Influencers or online trolls generally go for these kind of fights for clout, money, and severe delusions of their own fighting ability.

It’s not the first time Rohan has linked up with a UFC fighter. He reportedly squared up with Billy Quarantillo, who is set to face Diego Ferreira this weekend at UFC Apex, although it remains unclear whether the two actually sparred with each other.

Jared Gordon trashing an internet troll also follows a familiar pattern of UFC fighters putting influencers in their place, with Sean Strickland famously beating up a renowned internet star two years ago. 

Sean Strickland bloodied Sneako in an infamous sparring session 

Out of most UFC fighters, reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland has built a reputation for making influencers regret stepping into the cage with him. In 2024, viral streamer Sneako called out Strickland for a sparring match, and the 35-year-old, who had lost to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, obliged. The two squared off at the UFC Performance Institute, where the session quickly turned into a bloody encounter.

Sneako streamed the sparring session on KICK, with Strickland initially taking it easy and moving at a slow pace. However, he unleashed a barrage of strikes toward the end of the session, badly busting up Sneako. Before the situation could get any worse, UFC veteran Forrest Griffin stepped in and separated the viral influencer from taking any more punishment.

With a bloody nose and various other injuries, Sneako left the UFC Performance Institute. The streamer later claimed that the UFC had banned him from attending its events ever again. Reacting to the viral sparring session, former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley also suggested that Sneako’s decision to spar with Strickland was a bad idea.

“I thought it was f***** up,” O’Malley said on the TimboSugar Show. “His corner threw in the towel. If someone came in here and wanted me to f****** peck around with him because I’m a professional champ and they want to get a little taste of what it’s like, I’m not gonna, did you see how hard he was trying to hurt him?”

That said, with Jared Gordon setting yet another example, it should be clear by now that influencers sparring with UFC fighters rarely ends well. However, since these clips generate a tremendous amount of attention online, internet personalities will likely continue seeking out opportunities to spar with professional fighters, even if it means risking getting beaten up in the process.