3 things we learned from Sean Strickland's Theo Von podcast appearance
By Amy Kaplan
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland warned us that his Theo Von podcast appearance would be raw, and wow, he wasn't kidding. The nearly two-hour interview dropped over the holiday break and they talked about everything from penis sizes to sex workers and everything in between.
But in case you don't have two full hours to devote, we broke down three of the most important things we learned from the interview.
1. Sean Strickland had to endure a lot as a child
Strickland told his fans he broke down crying during the podcast, and now we know why. Strickland reveals several truly heartbreaking and disturbing occurances between his parents when he was a child.
Warning the descriptions may be triggering to domestic violence survivors.
āI was in probably third or fourth grade, I used to always sleep in my momās room because I thought my dad was going to kill my mom,ā Strickland said on the podcast. āSo I would sleep by the door, Iād sleep under the bed. Iād sleep by the door because I thought my dad was going to kill my mom.ā
While telling the story, Strickland breaks down several times.
āOne day, it was so f***** up, they just got in a bad fight, it was like third, fourth grade, my dad was like āf*** that, heās not sleeping in here tonight, kick him out.āā Strickland said. āSo I like army crawled under the bed and Iām sleeping under the bed. Iām like laying under the bed as theyāre fighting because I think my dad was going to kill my mom."
He continued, āMy dad gets on top of my mom and I remember he said āIām going to f****** kill you tonight.ā Maybe itās just rough sex, we donāt know at this moment. Iām under the bed and he starts strangling her. I get out and the only thing I can see is a guitar, I just f******* crack him in the head and call the cops. I run down the street to call the cops, heās arrested and my dumb ass mom bails him out of jail. I would say thatās the tip of the iceberg.ā
Strickland revealed graphic details about the threats his father said to his mother, all while he was listening.
āI remember I used to just sit there and hug my momās leg in the kitchen. We had this little nook and she would go in the nook and I would sit there and all night long, Iām by the feet of my mom and my dad [is saying] āIām going to f****** kill you.ā He would talk about burning her face with acid. Iām in elementary school. Heād always tell her āif you cheat on meā ā and she probably was cheating on him ā āif you cheat on me, Iām going to cut you up and put you in a bottle of acid and bury you,ā" Strickland said. āNow you fast forward this, I donāt go to school. Iām up until 3 in the morning and I couldnāt stay awake in school. I stopped believing in God when I was in elementary school. I was laying in bed crying thinking about killing myself. There canāt be a f****** God here. How is there a God. Why would I be in this situation if there was a God? There aināt no f****** god. My earliest memories. When I think back when I was a kid, I canāt recall one good memory, not one f****** good memory as a kid.ā
You can listen to the full interview on Spotify, right here.
2. Sean Strickland says he bit Dricus Du Plessis during altercation
Just one day after nearly coming to blows at their first face-off, Strickland and Du Plessis were sat just two rows away from each other at the UFC 296 event. We all know by now what happened, Strickland flew from his seat to attack his future opponent.
But on the podcast Strickland revealed details we haven't heard before.
āIām so happy they didnāt get it from a right angle, I bit him. I s*** you not. Whenever he went into me, I remember at that moment, he tackles me and right there, you see my head goes up towards him, I started thinking how can hurt this man? Iām going take a f****** chunk out of him. Iām going to bite his f****** ear off," Strickland said of the moment between he and Du Plessis.
āI remember telling myself at that moment, āSean, you canāt do that, thatās something you canāt walk away from.ā If you do that, then Iām going to jail.ā
Neither of the men were charged and Strickland left the arena after they were separated.
3. Sean Strickland sets his trash-talking limit
Trash talking is very common in MMA but in recent years, due to the rise of people like Conor McGregor, it's take on a life of its own. Some fighters believe there are off-limit topics when it comes to pre-fight talk.
After McGregor insulted Khabib Nurmagomedov's religion, people were calling for that topic to be off the table. Colby Covington often talks about race and politics, another controversial topic and Dricus Du Plessis mentioned Strickland's abuse in their press conference.
Strickland, the king of stepping over the line, says even he has limits.
āThereās some things that are off limits,ā Strickland said. āYou donāt really talk about a manās wife, you donāt talk about a manās kids, and you donāt about a kid being abused. These things are all off-limits. Once he crossed that ā¦ I tried to f****** ignore it. I was boiling.
He also directly addresses the comments made by Du Plessis at the UFC 297 pre-fight press conference.
āWhenever Dricus goes on there and he jokes about that s***, dude, you have no idea. Iāll f****** kill you, you have no idea. I think the issue is too, when youāre a kid and youāre made to be a victim your whole life, as an adult, youāre like never again. Iāll f****** kill you.ā