Sean Strickland is seen on stage during the UFC 302 press conference at Prudential Center on May 30, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey.

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is one of the most outspoken fighters in the promotion’s history and it is one of the reasons why he has so many fans.

Sean Strickland rose to the top of the middleweight division with an extremely awkward fight style and an equally unique personality. The 33-year-old has become well-known for providing several controversial media day answers, as well as sharing his views on social media.

The former middleweight champion fought at UFC 302 earlier this month, defeating Paulo Costa over a lacklustre five-rounds. Following the fight, ‘Tarzan’ admitted that he wasn’t entirely happy with his performance as it lacked excitement.

Sean Strickland reacts after his victory against Paulo Costa of Brazil in a middleweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on Jun...

UFC PR team held meetings after Strickland’s controversial outbursts

A new documentary ‘Fight Inc: Inside the UFC’ aired on Roku this past week, and it gives a behind the scenes look at how the promotion is ran.

Included in the documentary is a behind the scenes look at a meeting conducted by the UFC’s PR team, where they discuss a Strickland media day.

The meeting was seemingly organised following some controversial topics being brought up by the 33-year-old during his media day appearance for his fight against Abus Magomedov last year. Strickland went on to win the fight with a second round knockout.

UFC CEO, Dana White, has made it clear in the past that he doesn’t want to silence any of his fighters, no matter what their opinions are, but it is something that the promotion’s clearly kept a close eye on.

“He had a long speech about not allowing women to vote anymore and that’s the reason this country is kind of going downhill. A couple of choice comments about Germany and America and Brazil as it relates to his opponent,” Christoph Goessing, the UFC’s public relations senior manager told.

“I mean, it was about 26 minutes of unadulterated Sean, he just says it all,” Goessing continued.

Sean Strickland willing to sit and wait for another middleweight title shot

Ahead of his recent fight at UFC 302, Strickland campaigned for an immediate title rematch against Dricus Du Plessis, after claiming he was robbed in their first meeting at UFC 297.

After returning to the win column, the former champion believes he has done enough to warrant fighting for the title again, and is willing to sit out and wait for that to happen.

‘Stillknocks’ is rumored to be defending his 185lb strap against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 this coming August, however, the UFC are yet to announce the fight.

Robert Whittaker is set to take on Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22, with the winner of that fight potentially putting themselves ahead of Strickland in the title conversation.

“I’m going to wait,” Strickland stated in the UFC 302 post fight press conference. “I paid my f****** dues man. I got robbed in dirty f****** Canada, we all know I got robbed. I’m going to sit my ass in the gym and be a teamplayer and I’m going to wait,” Strickland added.