Photo: UFC middleweight Sean Strickland’s finger was badly infected after sparring

Sean Strickland has learned a lesson after a recent sparring session went wrong. The UFC middleweight explained what happened after he caught the tooth…

By: Kristen King | 9 months ago
Photo: UFC middleweight Sean Strickland’s finger was badly infected after sparring
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Sean Strickland has learned a lesson after a recent sparring session went wrong.

The UFC middleweight explained what happened after he caught the tooth of someone he punched in the mouth, which led to a gruesome cut on his finger. That cut got infected, and Strickland required medical attention.

“I punched a dude in the face, right? And it was consensual, but I hit his tooth and now my finger is god awful infected,” said Strickland (H/T Alex Behunin of Cageside Press). “So now I gotta go get this thing scrubbed out, get an antibiotic IV and we’ll be back to it on Monday.”

Upon his arrival to the hospital, Strickland was told he would undergo a minor surgery on his finger to open and clean it out.

“I don’t know what the f—k happened,” said Strickland. “Camp was going really f—king good. I had a hard spar on Thursday. I woke up on Friday and was like, ‘Hey, you know what? My finger is a little sore’ and then throughout the day, I was like my finger is f—ked. So I went to the hospital and it turns out I have a really bad infection from a tooth. And yeah, they’re going to cut me open and drain it out. I should’ve went to college you guys, I don’t f—king know. I’m gonna be out for like three weeks though, so that’s f—king life, right?”

Days removed from his minor surgery, Strickland showed off what his finger looks like now. Fair warning, it looks like it was either thrown into a shredder or beaten with a meat tenderizer. Check it out:

Though ‘Tarzan’ expects to be out for three weeks, his upcoming fight against Jared Cannonier does not appear to be in jeopardy. Both men return to the Octagon after their respective losses to Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya at UFC 276 this past July. UPDATE: UFC Main Event Scrapped After Infected Finger Forces Sean Strickland Out.

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About the author
Kristen King
Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.

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