Never one to hold back, Sean Strickland recently offered some insight into how one fight in particular changed his views on gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Known for his unfiltered takes and pressure-heavy striking, the UFC middleweight contender revealed during an interview with The Schmo that his experience on the mats runs deeper than most fans may realize:
You guys don’t know this, but I’m actually a black belt.
While his style leans heavily on boxing and brawling, Strickland spent years developing his grappling game – until one fight shifted everything.
And, well, that moment came at UFC 210 in 2017, when he faced Kamaru Usman.
With a wrestling pedigree few can match, Usman made quick work of Strickland’s BJJ-based strategy:
I fought Kamaru Usman, and I was going for fuc*ing armbars and triangles, and he was bouncing my head off the mat.
The physical beating wasn’t the only thing that left a mark.
Mentally, the fight triggered a reevaluation of how – and why – he trained.
What followed was a definitive decision to move away from gi-based Jiu-Jitsu:
Once I experienced that level of fuc*ing misery, I said, f*ck the gi.
I’m never wearing that thing again.
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