Having already threatened to stab Dricus Du Plessis ahead of their fight this weekend, UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has had a heated encounter with a reporter at the UFC 297 presser, who quizzed him over past LGBTQ comments he had made.

I’m not sure why any self-respecting reporter would ask a guy who gets punched in the head for a living about anything other than their upcoming fight, but here’s how that went down:

“You ask me some stupid sh*t like that? Go f*ck yourself.”

Sean Strickland went off on a reporter who pressed him on past comments about the LGBTQ community at #UFC297 media day. pic.twitter.com/wyTEcUZLbv

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 17, 2024

Welp, I guess the UFC is just about the only organisation where an athlete can say things like that and get away with it. I doubt the UFC community or even the wider MMA community and the LGBT community intersect much, so it’s no wonder Dana White is happy for fighters like Strickland to speak their minds, even if they are saying completely outrageous things that would have anyone else in any other walk of life ‘cancelled’.

Obviously this reporter knew exactly what he was doing when he asked Sean Strickland that, and got the answer he wanted. Funnily enough, the co-main event is two gay women fighting, so it will be interesting to see what they make of the comments. Then again, I bet Strickland has no issue whatsoever with lesbians.

In any case, it should be a good fight this weekend. Here’s the full card:

To watch Sean Strickland’s emotional breakdown when discussing his childhood trauma on the Theo Von podcast, click HERE.