Chris Curtis reveals he once 'threatened to cripple' Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 312

LAS VEGAS – According to Chris Curtis, things escalated pretty badly with Sean Strickland at one point.

Curtis and Strickland are good friends and training partners at Xtreme Couture, but that doesn’t stop them from occasional spats. Curtis revealed that tensions once flared so much that he considered putting his hands on Strickland.

The pair have now made up as they both prepare for their upcoming fights.

“You guys know the character of Sean. I’ve been in this for like 10 years now, and there are times where I have debated hitting him with a brick,” Curtis told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 249 news conference. “Like, not even joking. I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m going to hit you with a f*cking brick.’

“Like, I don’t care where it goes. This time led to a fistfight, as well, and we were really about to throw down, and the entire gym was like, ‘Are you guys really doing this?’ We’re about to throw down, and I’m like, threatening to cripple him before he fights Dricus (Du Plessis). I was like, ‘I will f*cking cripple you.’ So, we get out of hand.”

Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) rematches middleweight champion Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) Feb. 8 in the UFC 312 headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Meanwhile, Curtis (31-11 MMA, 5-3 UFC) takes on Roman Kopylov (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 249 (ESPN+) main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.