Getty Image
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland had it all.
He had the title. He had the money, and he had the fame.
But even that couldn’t prevent Strickland from dealing with mental health issues that he recently revealed have been plaguing him outside of the cage.
“Man, all week I’ve been f—– up, dude. I’ve been on the Twitter saying crazy s— just just f—— spiraling. I woke up and I told my girl, I was like, ‘Babe, I feel like a danger to people. I don’t feel like I should be out in the world.’ And I think that, you know, I have everything — I’m rich, I’m famous. Like, I have everything I’ve ever f—— wanted, and I still am mentally unwell,” Strickland said on Instagram reel Monday night. “And I get in these like, mindsets, to where like, I want to burn everything down in the world. Like, I want to have nothing so I could just f—— lose it and just take out everything on people. And I think that, like, you guys in a weird way are like my family.
“I’ve shared some s— with you guys and you guys have shared some s—- with me that like, I feel more connected with my fans than I think most people feel, just because we’ve gone through a lot together. And man, I have everything I want, dude, and I still struggle with mental health. And my memory is so short that like, when I’ve gone through this week, like once I get past it, I think to myself, ‘Oh man, that was a really rough time in my life.’ But then when I really think about it, this happens multiple times a month, every month.
“And again, I don’t even know why I’m telling you guys this. I’ve just been kind of going through some s— I’m fine, I’ll be fine. I’m going to go train right now and try to hurt all my friends and all the demons will go away. I just want you guys know that I have everything I could ever want in the world and I still struggle, so whatever you guys are going through, man, I hope you all feel better. Go to the gym, train. F—— wish you all the best.”
Sean Strickland Has Had A Whirlwind Last 12 Months In The UFC
It was a heartbreaking yet impressively vulnerable message from the often-brash former champion.
Strickland shot to stardom when he stunned the UFC world and knocked off Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title. But he then dropped the title just four months later in a fight with current champ Dricus Du Plessis.
Strickland’s stayed busy since that fight, igniting several online feuds.
But it’s clear he’s also got a lot on his plate. And fighting may well need to take a back seat for the time being.