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Sean Strickland is the new UFC middleweight champion, and he is currently scheduled to defend his claim on the divisional throne against rising contender Dricus du Plessis. Fans will likely expect a vintage stream of Sean Strickland trash-talk ahead of the bout, as he is known for having little to no filter.
However, curiously enough, there has been a rare instance of Strickland holding back his brand of controversial trash talk. Strickland spoke about the situation during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. According to him, the incident took place when he was approached by Albert Duraev.
Duraev is a Russian MMA fighter who competes in the UFC middleweight division. For context, Duraev is a devout Muslim who took issue with Strickland's trash-talking Islam. Duraev approached Strickland, who initially believed he was simply going to be shown a wrestling move. Instead, they had a heart-to-heart:
"So he's like, 'Sean, Sean, Sean, in my country I cannot be friends with you. I'm like, 'What are you f***ing talking about?' He's like, 'You say things about Islam.' Pretty much saying, 'I cannot be friends with you because of what you say about Islam.' I've never imagined, I make fun of Jews, Christians, Scientologists, I make fun of everybody. So after that, after he crests my leg and rubbed my head a little bit, I was like, 'f**k it, dude. I'm gonna lay off Islam.'"
It was this conversation that led to Strickland's decision to refrain from trash-talking Islam. However, fans aren't expecting him to hold back his tongue against Dricus du Plessis, who is Sean Strickland's next fight.
Sean Strickland's trash-talk against Israel Adesanya
Given his personality and general manner, Sean Strickland's past situation with Albert Duraev isn't the only instance when someone approached him about his trash-talk. After 'Tarzan' famously defeated Israel Adesanya in arguably the greatest middleweight upset of all time, a similar incident took place.
Adesanya approached Strickland about the latter's previous trash-talk and comments about his dog ahead of the fight. Adesanya expressed his disappointment and hurt, claiming that he would have never targeted Strickland's family had he been in his position, as he considered his dog a part of his family.
In light of Adesanya's reaction, however, Strickland was unapologetic, instead taunting his rival by claiming he felt bad, only to imply that 'The Last Stylebender' was mentally impaired.
