Sean Strickland managed to stay in the headlines for his comments after the match. While Strickland showed respect to Anthony Hernandez after defeating the latter, he went after ‘Fluffy’s coach in a post-fight press conference. Now, although Paramount abruptly ended his UFC Houston press conference, Strickland didn’t seem to stop.

The lead-up to UFC Houston and the aftermath were around ‘Tarzan’. He fought Anthony Hernandez on Saturday. And after winning the bout through TKO, Strickland delved into some interesting topics. Rather, he went into a rant instead of a discussion. While talking about his victory over Hernandez, the former UFC middleweight champion revealed what inspired his performance.

Strickland goes off at Anthony Hernandez’s coach

“I noticed in the corner of my eye, Jim West, that Motherf**ker is looking at me, and I look at Jim West,” said Sean Strickland during UFC Houston. “You’ll see if you look at the fight. I like beer off. I’m looking at Jim West. I kept thinking there’s no f–king way. I’m gonna let this f–king Predator beat me and have a fucking victory over me. My motivation was thinking about like Jim West. I fu–king hate that guy.”

Notably, Strickland is someone who keeps his hatred for a few personalities alive in his mind. Against Jim West, he has a long-standing beef, citing the MMA coach’s relationship with former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd. However, the UFC’s new broadcast partner, Paramount, didn’t allow Strickland to go further with his rant.

But, after the event, ‘Tarzan’ went to his socials to reiterate his opinion on Anthony Hernandez’s coach. He posted a screenshot from a Google search and posted it on his X handle. “According to google,” wrote Strickland on X.

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However, amid these outside-the-cage activities, the highlight is that Strickland secured a victory over a promising contender like Hernandez. While the motivation to push for that win may have been controversial, it ultimately benefited the former UFC middleweight champion.

Notably, Strickland was also an underdog heading into the UFC Houston fight. But following a clinical performance, he received praise from some of the prominent individuals in the community.

Conor McGregor showers praise on ‘Tarzan’

For Sean Strickland, the fight against Anthony Hernandez was quite important. In his last bout, he failed to claim the UFC middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis. And for him to climb the ladder back up again, he needed a victory over ‘Fluffy’.

The performance was quite contradictory to how the fight against du Plessis went. And due to that, people like Conor McGregor were full of praise for the 34-year-old.

“That’s what nothing but hours and hours of sparring gets you,” wrote McGregor on X. “Just show up and s*** spar everyday and voila! Overthink nothing. Who gives a f***! Haha! Sean is great!”

Now, what lies ahead for Strickland is quite uncertain. He surely wants a fight against Khamzat Chimaev for the UFC middleweight champion. But then again, Nassourdine Imavov is probably the first in line for a title shot.

However, the ultimate decision lies in the hands of the UFC. On that note, who do you think Strickland fights next? Let us know in the comments below!