Houston — Former middleweight champ Sean Strickland called Houston “a f*cking ghost town” on Wednesday, speaking ahead of his main event clash with Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston.
Strickland (29-7) is looking to bounce back from a loss in his rematch with Dricus Du Plessis roughly a year ago. Yet as usual (and not entirely by his own doing), talk strayed wildly during Wednesday’s media day, to current events including the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping and the upcoming UFC White House card.
Asked why people are so focused on Guthrie, the 84-year old mother of NBC journalist Savannah Guthrie, Strickland suggested it came down to fame.
“Well she’s famous. You guys don’t understand, we’re better than you guys. It’s like, I’m better than you guys. It’s like, if something happens to me — well not me, because people hate me, I’m the white, right side, but you know, Famous people are better than you guys. I’m sorry, it’s weird, man.”
“Again, you want people to give a f*ck. Make it an attractive blonde girl, everybody gives a f*ck. Everybody gives a f*ck,” added Strickland, who suggested, in different words, that the same reaction wouldn’t be forthcoming for a black kidnapping victim.
The information that we get is prepackaged and fed to you,” he added.
Then there was the announcement of Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano on Netflix.
“Oh f*ck me dude. Ronda and Gina? Whoever thought about that? Are they gonna be half naked? Well I guess they will be half naked. Might make it a little better. I don’t know, let’s be honest, Ronda Rousey can fight, that b*tch can fight, she’s a f*cking Olympian. Weird f*cking Olympian. I think she lots a few fights to her ex, but b*tch can fight.”
As for Carano, who fought in Strikeforce, which Strickland noted as a promotion that was in action when he was 12, “Gina always kind of sucked, she was just hot.”
After dismissing female fighting almost entirely, Strickland suggested that he’d be in jail if it wasn’t for women.
“If it wasn’t for p*ssy and MMA, guys, I would be in f*cking prison. The only thing that kept me out of prison, I always say it was MMA but no, there are no women in prison. That’s why I didn’t go to prison, knowing that I had to be surrounded by a bunch of f*cking dudes for 30 years? I’m not doing that sh*t.”
Strickland did manage to answer a few fighting related questions in the end, however. Addressing a potential title shot with a win against Hernandez, Strickland admitted that he wasn’t sure, given how inactive the champ has been historically.
“I don’t f*cking know, dude. Here’s the thing, do you want to see two terrorist Muslims [Khamzat Chimaev and top contender Nassourdine Imavov] fight each other? More than likely, Chimaev’s going to take down Imavov and just f*cking dry hump him. Nobody gives a f*ck about two foreigners f*cking fighting. But the thing about Chimaev is, how inactive is he going to be?”
“Let’s just say this fight does happen— when is it supposed to happen?” Sean Strickland then questioned.
When the White House was suggested, Strickland joked about bringing a terrorist to the White House. “Wouldn’t surprise me with this f*cking administration.”
Referring to middleweight champ Chimaev’s ties to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, Strickland added “he’s best friends with a f*cking warlord dictator that murders people. So yeah it wouldn’t surprise me if this administration puts a f*cking terrorist on the White House card. I guess the perfect person to fight him would be me, the last real f*cking American in the UFC.”
Watch the full UFC Houston media day appearance by Sean Strickland above.
