In sports, weakness, and vulnerability are sometimes swept under the carpet as an athlete navigates through his career. Especially, in MMA, where setbacks are bound to occur. In the process, they do not deal with mental health issues, and this can often turn out to be detrimental. Looking at UFC, certain fighters have come out in public to speak about their worsening mental health including Alexander Volkanovski and Sean Strickland.

Earlier this week, ‘Tarzan’ published a video where he stated that he is having problems facing his inner demons. The former middleweight champion asserted that despite being rich and famous, it’s difficult for him to cope with this world. This call for help by Strickland was noticed by former dual weight champion, Daniel Cormier who urged the community to be nice to Strickland.

Daniel Cormier empathizes with Sean Strickland’s current plight

After getting his title snatched by Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, Strickland has been calling out Dana White for an immediate rematch. However, ‘Tarzan’ has yet to get any confirmation from the promotion. A loss can be tough, especially when it’s so close. Strickland’s current situation jogs our memory back to Alexander Volkanovski’s downward spiral following his knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in their second encounter.

‘Volk’ became depressed, and confessed that to calm his nerves he sought refuge in alcohol consumption.  For his honest admission, Volkanovski got a lot of support from the MMA community. Likewise, Strickland has come forward to address his mental health problems and Daniel Cormier believes that the MMA community should extend their well wishes and support.

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“Sean Strickland is a guy who has a very, very dark past. We all know that, but that dark past has served to make him a world champion fighter and a guy that is willing to go through so much adversity. He said he’s rich and still can’t get past the hurdles mentally,” said Cormier.

He further added, “I want to make sure, as we, as the consumers, treat this in the same manner in which we treated Alexander Volkanovski when he spoke about his mental issues. Whether you love him or you hate him, we have to look at the human being. Because when Volkanovski said he was in his own head, we all rushed to speak to him, his strength. We need to make sure we do the same thing for Sean Strickland. So, we, as the MMA community, should be by his side again, just like we did for Volkanovski.”

Strickland had a difficult childhood due to his abusive father. If it would not have been for her mother, Strickland would have never stepped into MMA. Nonetheless, let’s see what Strickland said that urged Daniel Cormier to make a dedicated video on the mental health of fighters.

“I’m not a superhero”:- Strickland

The former middleweight champion made a video where he stated that he was going through a rough time despite having everything he desired.

“I enjoy showing I’m not Captain America, I’m not a superhero. I’m just like them, and any time I can connect and reach out to them, I try to do it. As a fighter, I can post a picture of myself hitting a bag or wrapping my hands and it doesn’t do the same thing. When I actually show people that I’m going through the same thing that they are going through, it does a lot more. This week was an opportunity to help them and to help myself, because talking about it helps,” said Strickland.

Moreover, months ago, Strickland was overwhelmed with emotions as he talked about the traumas he faced in his childhood on Theo Von’s podcast. Nonetheless, it must do a world of good for people who are struggling in their lives due to Strickland’s brutal honesty in his latest video. What’s your take on Strickland’s confession?  State your thoughts in the comments below.

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