Details of Sean Strickland's Neo-Nazi past

Sean Strickland opened up about his neo-Nazi past in an interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour show a few years ago. He shared disturbing details about his troubled youth and also talked about how martial arts saved his life.

The former UFC middleweight champion revealed that his idolization of his father and grandfather forced him onto the path of neo-nazism. Strickland stated that he was an impressionable young kid influenced by the ideas put forth by the elder people in his family. Additionally, the stress-filled atmosphere at home fueled and nurtured the negative emotions within him:

“My grandfather was this big piece of sh**,” Strickland said. “When you’re a kid, you don’t see that, you hero-worship him. My grandfather was, like, 6-foot-7 ... he just kind of filled your head with crazy sh**. Because you’re in seventh grade, spouting off Nazi [ideas] — you don’t f***ing know that. You don’t even know what the f*** that means."

He added:

“But you hear it and you think it’s someone you look up to and almost hero-worship because he was a massive figure that wasn’t my dad, and that identity consumed me. I’m drawing swastikas on my arm and walking to school and I didn’t know what the f*** that was.” [H/T MMA Fighting]

Watch Strickland's most unfiltered moments:

.@SStricklandMMA joined @arielhelwani to detail how MMA helped him grow out of his Neo-Nazi past:

"The moment I started training I was like 'F*ck man, I don't hate anyone. Everyone is cool.'"

▶️ Watch full interview from #TheMMAHour: youtu.be/gfGexuvCRLQ https://t.co/ElinXXQqHj

Strickland was inspired by Edward Norton's character in the movie American History X and wanted to be like him after growing up. It took a while for his worldview to change but he eventually came to realize that being a neo-Nazi was not the right approach to live his life. He renounced the ideology for good and moved on with his life.

Sean Strickland reveals how MMA saved his life

Sean Strickland was kicked out of school in the ninth grade for committing a hate crime. His mother took him to an MMA gym and 'Tarzan' revealed that the move changed his life forever. Here's what the current middleweight contender said about his first sparring experience:

"I remember crying after I got done sparring, Even when I think about it, it makes my eyes water. I don’t think I ever really experienced happiness until that day. You’ve got to understand, you live your whole life in a certain mindset, and then you do something and then you’re just like, ‘F*ck dude, this is what it feels like. This is what normal people experience. I f*cking love this.’" (h/t MMA Fighting)

Strickland did phenomenally well after progressing in his combat sports journey. He became the UFC middleweight champion by defeating Israel Adesanya in 2023. Although he lost the belt to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 last January, Strickland is on a quest to get another shot at the title. He will attempt to score a resounding win over Paulo Costa at this weekend's UFC 302 to get a step closer to the title shot.