Teammates Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis have made the headlines together for numerous incidents. From throwing fistfights while training at Xtreme Couture to Chris lauding ‘Tarzan’ for his well-deserved wins, these two friends share a rare bond. So recently, when interviewed by Ariel Helwani at ‘The MMA Hour’, Curtis gushed about Strickland’s motivation and also how his relationship has hugely contributed to that.

Fans and longtime followers of MMA would know that Sean Strickland’s journey to the middleweight championship belt has been anything but smooth. Starting from his difficult childhood right till the time of his stepping in as a replacement for Dricus Du Plessis, and nobody giving him a chance against Israel Adesanya, Strickland’s underdog story is one for the movies.  Now his friend The ‘Action Man’ has revealed how ‘Tarzan’ had his ‘Jane’ beside him at all times and how she helped his transformation leading up to his win.

The lady that shines bright in the life of Sean Strickland

In a run-up to UFC 293, UFC had come out with a vlog series about the fighters, and ‘Tarzan’s girlfriend made a rare appearance in a video.  Strickland has been very open about his life in general but not much is known about his girlfriend who is simply introduced as KJ in the video. Ariel Helwani, during an interview with Chris Curtis, dived right into how Sean’s demeanor has been ‘going into the fight’, with his girlfriend beside him. To this, Chris replied: “… that week KJ was there with him… People always give me credit like, Oh, you helped change Sean. Like, No, man. She’s turned Sean to a different animal. It’s not even bad, but she’s definitely made him step up the person he was, which is really cool.”

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Chris seems genuinely happy for his friend, while Helwani hails Sean’s lady love, as the ‘unsung hero of the week’. Strickland led the scores against Adesanya in the fifth round. The knockout blow that would have allowed ‘The Last Stylebender’ to claim the championship never came.

Strickland’s defensive techniques were what led him to claim the title. He skillfully evaded Adesanya’s blows and countered them with technique, landing eloquent blows. This came as a shock to the fans as anticipation for Adesanya’s win was high after his win against Alex Pereira at UFC 281. Tarzan himself has acknowledged that “Everybody fighting Izzy is an underdog.”

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Sean Strickland is winning in life

Curtis during the interview also adds that ‘KJ’ is “probably the greatest thing that’s happened to him since I’ve known him.” Sean himself has stated in an interview with MMA journalist Helen Yee, that his girlfriend has to be credited for making him a better person. 

“As straight, as it is, nothing changes a man quite like a woman. So there’s that motivation. So you got the woman you love on your arm and you got the USC belt on the other. He’s winning life,” Curtis further added while in conversation with Helwani. 

Now, with this new-found success and his lady by his side, what remains to be seen is that if this was a ‘luck-by-chance’ event as many people seem to imply or if Strickland will keep on rising in his game. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.

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