"We need to bring back alcoholism" - When Sean Strickland advocated for kids to get "rage beatings" from fathers to toughen up
Sean Strickland is known as one of the most outspoken and unfiltered fighters in the MMA for a reason. The reigning UFC middleweight champion once notably voiced his support for fathers to dish out "rage beatings" on their kids to harden them.
It's no secret that Strickland grew up in a toxic household and suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his father throughout his childhood. The 32-year-old American has spoken at length about his traumatic childhood and made no attempts to hide how it shaped his raw personality.
Nevertheless, Strickland credits his toughness as a person to his parents' destructive influence and even advocated for such parenting. During an interview with Brendan Schaub on an episode of Food Truck Diaries, 'Tarzan' sounded off on children growing up soft and said:
"Americans, you guys are just soft motherf***ers. You got to get hit by your family more. We need to bring back alcoholism and maybe some dr*g ab*se, it'll be good for you guys... You guys need to get hit by your dads a little bit more... You guys need to get like an alcoholic rage beating, and then you'll start f***ing learning how to have n*ts."
Watch the full episode below:
It's worth noting that Strickland lost his temper at Dricus Du Plessis for bringing up his father's abusive nature during their heated exchange at the UFC seasonal press conference before UFC 296 in Las Vegas last month. 'Tarzan' later opined that child abuse was "off limits" even during trash-talking.
Sean Strickland emotionally recalls his father threatening to hurt his mother
Sean Strickland recently opened up about being raised in an abusive household and broke down while recalling a particularly harrowing ordeal involving domestic abuse.
As mentioned above, Strickland grew up rough. During his recent appearance on Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, 'Tarzan' emotionally narrated a story about how his father threatened to physically harm him and his mother while under the influence of narcotics. He said:
"He [Strickland's father] was on drugs, lots of drugs... I remember I used to sit there and just hug my mom's leg in the kitchen. We had this little nook, and she would go there, and I would just sit there all night long, by the feet of my mom, and my dad [would go] like, 'I'm going to f**king kill you'... I'll never forget, he would talk about burning her face with acid and, mind you, I'm in elementary school."
Strickland is scheduled to defend the 185-pound championship against Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. He's riding a three-fight win streak.