Sean Strickland shares mental health struggle: ‘I have everything I’ve ever f****** wanted, and I still am mentally unwell’
Sean Strickland is speaking out about his mental health struggles.
The former UFC middleweight champion shared his recent struggles in an Instagram post on Monday night, revealing that he was “f****** spiraling” and was “mentally unwell” despite having everything he’s ever wanted. Strickland said these issues arise “multiple times a month, every month,” and reiterated that he feels “like a danger to people” and has been trapped in a mindset where he wants “to burn everything down in the world.”
Strickland’s complete message can be seen below.
“Man, all week I’ve been f***** up, dude. I’ve been on the Twitter saying crazy s***, just just f****** spiraling. I woke up and I told my girl, I was like, ‘Babe, I feel like a danger to people. I don’t feel like I should be out in the world.’ And I think that, you know, I have everything — I’m rich, I’m famous. Like, I have everything I’ve ever f****** wanted, and I still am mentally unwell. And I get in these like, mindsets, to where like, I want to burn everything down in the world. Like, I want to have nothing so I could just f****** lose it and just take out everything on people. And I think that, like, you guys in a weird way are like my family.
“I’ve shared some s*** with you guys and you guys have shared some s*** with me that like, I feel more connected with my fans than I think most people feel, just because we’ve gone through a lot together. And man, I have everything I want, dude, and I still struggle with mental health. And my memory is so short that like, when I’ve gone through this week, like once I get past it, I think to myself, ‘Oh man, that was a really rough time in my life.’ But then when I really think about it, this happens multiple times a month, every month.
“And again, I don’t even know why I’m telling you guys this. I’ve just been kind of going through some s***. I’m fine, I’ll be fine. I’m going to go train right now and try to hurt all my friends and all the demons will go away. I just want you guys know that I have everything I could ever want in the world and I still struggle, so whatever you guys are going through, man, I hope you all feel better. Go to the gym, train. F****** wish you all the best.”
Strickland, 33, has been sidelined since dropping his UFC middleweight title in a split decision to Dricus du Plessis this past January at UFC 297. That loss ended a three-fight win streak over Nassourdine Imavov, Abus Magomedov, and Israel Adesanya that saw Strickland rise to stardom with his shocking upset of Adesanya to capture the belt at UFC 293.
Strickland is no stranger to voicing his mental health distress. In various interviews and on social media, Strickland has spoken candidly about his traumatic childhood, his neo-Nazi past, and his constant battle with homicidal thoughts. He has also kept plenty busy since his title loss, feuding with musician Machine Gun Kelly, scrapping with fans and social media influencers, and calling for an immediate rematch against du Plessis.
Most recently, fellow former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker called for a five-round bout against Strickland at the promotion’s next visit to Perth, Australia.