Sean Strickland is given a golden GUN by his manager ahead of UFC 297, with American admitting the gesture made him ‘a little emotional’ after unwrapping deadly weapon inscribed with his name
- Sean Strickland prepares to defend his middleweight title at UFC 297
- American was gifted a golden pistol in the first episode of UFC Embedded
- He said he was almost emotional about the gift, which had his name engraved on it
Sean Strickland already has a few weapons of his own, but none quite like the golden weapon he was given ahead of UFC 297.
In the first episode of UFC embeddedwhich follows fighters before an event, the middleweight champion receives a special gift from his manager.
Strickland is filmed entering a store and saying, “We’re going to my friend’s gun shop, so if you see me shooting machine guns, we’re doing it here.”
“Bro, I’ve never gotten a gun before. It’s fun, that’s so dope. This is so fucking dope, it’s epic.”
Manager Lance Spaude then shakes his hand and says, “I thought you’d like it.”
Sean Strickland received a gold semi-automatic weapon as a gift from his manager
The gun was unpacked by the UFC champion during the first episode of UFC Embedded
Strickland explains, “I generally don’t like gifts. I make a lot of money and anything I want to buy, I can buy myself, dude.
‘But thanks, it makes me a bit emotional. This goes on my wall, no one will break into my house.’
The gold semi-automatic weapon was engraved with ‘Sean Strickland’ to add a personal touch, while the stock and grip were in black.
Strickland regularly posts videos of himself firing guns at the shooting range and is known for his wild life outside the octagon.
The American was a surprise title winner last year when he pulled off a stunning upset against Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title.
And he will be in action this Saturday in Toronto against South African Dricus du Plessis for his first defense. The build-up is marred by a grim back-and-forth about comments Du Plessis made about Strickland’s traumatic childhood.
At a press conference last month, Du Plessis shouted: “Do you think your father beat you up? Your father has nothing against me… every childhood memory you have will come flooding back when I’m there with you.”
Strickland has since spoken in detail about the alleged abuse he suffered from his father during his childhood during an emotional interview.
Strickland (left) takes on Du Plessis (right) in the main event of UFC 297 this Saturday
Strickland secured one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport against Israel Adesanya
And this week even went so far as to threaten Strickland by saying he would “stab” him if he brought it up again this week.
For Du Plessis, there is no regret about his comments, which he believes had a huge impact, although he does not intend to target them again before the night of the fight.
The comments led to the pair disappearing into the crowd at UFC 296 last month and provided the riveting backdrop for Saturday night.
A year ago, few would have predicted that this title fight is so emblematic of elite MMA that it only takes a few brilliant performances to change a career.
Strickland has already achieved that and will look to defend the UFC gold that he can hang on his wall next to his new gift.