Sean Strickland is set to face Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title. However, ahead of the clash, the former champion seems to be in the mood for some banter with Khamzat Chimaev. Amidst this exchange, the undefeated Chechen has brought up Strickland’s abusive father, resurfacing painful memories.

As these demons return, Strickland will have to find a way to cope once again. Well, as the middleweight fighters banter against each other, let’s go down memory lane and look at the details of Strickland’s troubled relationship with his father. In his most recent confession, the former middleweight champion expressed new information about his father that was kept hidden from the world.

Sean Strickland makes an unknown confession about his father

Once training at the same gym, Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev have recently been at odds, largely due to Strickland receiving a title shot before Chimaev. In an attempt to take a dig at Strickland, Chimaev resurfaced an old and embarrassing photo of him, captioning it to reopen childhood wounds. “why are you baby crying all the time? father didn’t give you love or he showed his love to you too much.”

That was a bit of a personal attack on Sean Strickland. The last time someone brought up his childhood, he nearly went berserk but this time it appears that ‘Tarzan’ is a bit ok with it. Responding to Chimaev’s attack, Strickland added, “Heres the thing my dad did hit me with some beer bottles once or twice lmao I will admit it, made me the man I am today… but I guarantee this little whore s—- off Kadyro.. obviously not good enough because you had to flee your country.”

Khamzat Chimaev has a controversial relationship with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, which many fans hold against him. In a video circulating online, Chimaev was seen breaking a glass of water, his hands visibly shaking after meeting Kadyrov.

Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev have been at each other’s throats and they are going all out against each other. Will this culminate in a fight? Well, probably, but all of it depends upon the conclusion of UFC 312. Given that, let’s further look into the troubled relationship between Strickland and his father.

Strickland reveals his childhood abuse that led to MMA

Sean Strickland has confessed more than once that his father was abusive, and hurt him physically as well as mentally. In simple phrasing, Strickland had a very toxic relationship with his father. However, the former middleweight champion didn’t face as many atrocities as his mother faced. Moreover, his father’s addiction was not just limited to alcohol, he indulged in prescription drugs as well.

While having a conversation on the ‘Extra Thiccc’ podcast, Strickland stated, “My father, abusive, alcoholic, drunk, you know. Got on pills later on. Everything about him, I hated. Yes, everything about him. I hated my dad.” After stating the fact, ‘Tarzan’ also revealed the intrinsic details about his mother’s side of the story.

“He f—ing gets on top of my mom… He gets on top of my mom and is like strangling her. Saying, ‘Tonight’s the night you’re gonna f—ing die,” Strickland told in his conversation with Ariel Helwani in another confession. “The only thing I see is a guitar, so I go and I grab the guitar, and I f—ng just smack him in the head as hard as I can. I grabbed the phone. I ran out and called the cops. My mom, her dumb—, bailed him out of jail the next day.”

Sean Strickland did suffer a lot in his childhood, but he claims it has shaped him as a fighter. Will ‘Tarzan’ be able to reclaim his title or will it be another defeat for him at the hands of Dricus Du Plessis? State your thoughts in the comments below.