Sean Strickland normally doesn’t break character. But when he steps out of that brash and verbose persona, it usually shows that ‘Tarzan’ genuinely feels remorse. So after he finished Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston, the former middleweight champion apologized to his opponent for a disrespectful remark that ‘Fluffy’ believed targeted his family.

“You know, I think he had a little bit more hate when I flipped off the crowd,” Strickland said in an interview with FullSend. “After the fight, he came to me, and he’s like, ‘Hey, you flipped off my 7-year-old daughter, and she thinks you’re rac…, you hate Mexicans.’ I’m just like, man… so I think I had a little bit of hate going into it.

But I do kind of feel bad for that, you know, especially like… it’s a hard thing to go back to your family when you’re bloody, and I have been there. So my bad, ‘Fluffy.’ That guy’s booing me. F— you. But your daughter, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to,” he added.

At the UFC Houston ceremonial weigh-ins, the crowd booed Strickland relentlessly. As he heard the wave of people rooting against him, ‘Tarzan’ fired back by flipping off the crowd. Fans showed their backlash, but ‘Fluffy’ took deeper offense because he believed Strickland aimed the gesture at his 7-year-old daughter. So, he spoke to the ex-champ about it after the fight. Following their interaction, Strickland clarified that he meant it for the crowd and not for Hernandez’s daughter, and he offered a humble apology.

Well, other than flipping off the UFC Houston crowd, Sean Strickland also addressed the local audience backing Hernandez before the bout. The former middleweight champ roared at the crowd, claiming he was more Mexican than ‘Fluffy’, a move that further fueled the animosity. However, now, both UFC stars have cleared the air, and hopefully, there isn’t much bad blood left.

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Now, as Sean Strickland has made amends with Anthony Hernandez, the same cannot be said for his coach, whom ‘Tarzan’ clearly doesn’t like.

Sean Strickland snaps at Anthony Hernandez’s coach after UFC Houston victory

When it comes to ‘Tarzan’s motivation, beating a dangerous contender and cementing a title shot at champion Khamzat Chimaev should’ve been enough. However, the ex-champ pushed a little harder against Anthony Hernandez because of his coach, Jim West. Why? It turns out Strickland isn’t a fan of West’s relationship with former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd.

“I know it’s crazy, and I love ‘Fluffy.’ He’s a stand-up guy… Can you picture being 35 years old and meeting a sweet 14-year-old Aspen Ladd and saying, ‘I’m gonna marry her when she turns 18’? That’s what f— Jim West did,” Strickland stated at the UFC Houston post-fight presser. “So whenever I was in that cage, me and ‘Fluffy’ are locked in, I’m looking over at Jim West, and I was like, f— this guy. I wasn’t fighting ‘Fluffy,’ I was fighting Jim West,” he added.

For the unversed, Aspen Ladd is indeed in a relationship with her coach Jim West. But there’s no public information confirming they are married or that they started dating when Ladd was 14 years old. Interestingly, Sean wasn’t the only one to take shots at West. Even former women’s 135 lbs champ Miesha Tate aimed at the coach and the ex-UFC fighter as well.

That said, as Sean Strickland has apologized for a misunderstanding, do you think ‘Fluffy’ has also silenced the noise with his performance? Let us know in the comments section below.