Sean Strickland recounts crazy stories from his time in prison
Sean Strickland is known for having outrageous opinions and never being shy of voicing them. Whenever the 31-year-old does an interview, unexpected stories and soundbites can be expected.
During UFC Vegas 67 media day, the UFC middleweight shared a story about going to jail as a teenager. He started by saying:
“I was arrested, bulls**t charges, but it was two felonies, and I had a lawyer saying, you’re going to jail for like a minimum of three years. I was like 18, 19…”
The American fighter continued by detailing his experience with white supremacists:
“You walk in [to jail], and if you’re white, which you know, I am a white man, the white supremacists come up to you and give you the tour… They say, well, here’s the rules, they help you make your bed. They lay down the rules. Here’s the thing, you can’t go to the bathroom while we're having dinner, and if you shower with a black guy, you gotta fight him…”
Strickland found himself in quite a predicament. He’s a young teenager being approached by racist white people looking to recruit him. To be fair, he was scared and didn’t have many choices.
Marvin Vettori & Sean Strickland are the newest duo in MMA
kind of wild that both Vettori & Roman Dolidze are having their camps both be at Xtreme Couture
https://t.co/vyjN28upqh
Watch Sean Strickland detail his jail experience below:
Sean Strickland details how he had no choice but to side with the white supremacists
Although not every prison or jail is segregated, it’s not uncommon for races to stick together behind bars. When white supremacists approached Sean Strickland, the young convict was not interested before realizing he didn't have a choice. He had this to say about his response:
“I’m like, listen, man, I’m not really racist… He goes, let me stop you right now, if you don’t join us, you’re pretty much on your own. You’re kinda f***ed… I walk past the segregation of black cells, and you have all of these Chris Curtis-looking motherf**kers grabbing the bars, threatening me, telling me they are going to f***ing kill me… What I’m trying to say is I’m not made for prison.”
After serving his jail sentence, he focused on MMA, where the American now makes a living with the UFC. Strickland holds a promotional record of 12-5, with his next fight on January 14.
Kelvin Gastelum pulled out of the UFC Vegas 67 main event at the last second, and Strickland stepped in on a week’s notice for a catchweight bout that saved Nassourdine Imavov from wasting a training camp.