Sean Strickland isn’t going to hang up the gloves any time soon, but he has big plans for when he does.
The former UFC middleweight champion begins his road back to the title on Saturday night when he faces Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302. Strickland and Costa will square off in Newark, New Jersey with the winner expected to become one of the division’s top contenders.
For the American, the journey to the gold was such a long and arduous one before he finally landed a stunning upset win over Israel Adesanya last September. In fact, many felt he would never even get a shot, let alone win the belt, due to his controversial attitude.
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Sean Strickland announces major life plan after retirement
Sean Strickland is synonymous with the Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas, where he has trained for all of his big fights. He was born in California, but opted to move to Nevada early in his career where he has become one of the famous gym’s mainstays.
His training methods have at times come in for controversy, including when he brutalised influencer and beginner fighter Sneako during a sparring session. But he has made the gym home, and credits it with keeping his mental health in check.
However, he is planning to leave Las Vegas and move to somewhere much quieter when he hangs up his gloves, likely meaning a move from the gym as well. On the first episode of the UFC Embedded series for Saturday’s fight, he explained that he and his dog are going to move away when he retires.
“I’m a childless adult with no kids,” he explained, while showing off his methods of training his dog to swim to safety if he ever lands in his pool. “So what does one do to fill that void? They get a dog.
“I’m not a huge fan of, like, emotional support dogs. I think you should just man the f*** up and kind of bury it like a man and slowly be depressed. But the other day I was driving and I was going too slow, I was petting my dog and not paying attention.
“So some guy flipped me off and I was like ‘it’s cool, man’. Once I’m done fighting I’ll probably move somewhere quiet, a smaller town with a bad pup, and my girlfriend if she still wants to be there with me, maybe my wife at this point, it’s her choice, right?”
Sean Strickland admits to major flaw in his training as he prepares for UFC 302
Strickland’s part of the first episode was significant, showing off his home life as well as his training sessions at the gym. He can be seen motivating his teammates as he enters his final session of camp, with his presence clearly a large one at the gym.
But one funny moment before the group breaks up for sparring is when he admits that he always performs poorly in the opening round of training. He can be heard in the video telling teammates: “We’re going to shoot for about eight rounds, my first round I’m always dog s***.”
However, that doesn’t seem to be an issue in his fights. His most famous win over Adesanya arrived after he dropped the champion with a right hand in the opening round and almost landed a finish as his rival just about hung on to survive.