"I gave my dad the gun" - When Sean Strickland admitted he asked his father to commit suicide when he was 17 years old

Over the past few years, Sean Strickland has gained considerable notoriety in the MMA community. Strickland has consistently put forth several socio-political opinions that many consider bigoted and incendiary.

'Tarzan' previously admitted that he used to be a racist in his growing years but claims to have evolved to respect people of other races through his combat sports journey. Additionally, Strickland has made controversial remarks regarding the LGBTQ community and made racist and xenophobic assertions.

During an appearance on former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub's Food Truck Diaries in late 2022, Sean Strickland referenced Schaub's past relationship with MMA legend 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey. Strickland recalled the time Rousey appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

On the show, Rousey revealed that she had suicidal thoughts after losing her UFC women's bantamweight title in an upset defeat against Holly Holm in November 2015. Addressing the same around the 14:09-minute mark of his interview with Schaub, Strickland lambasted Rousey for contemplating suicide and labeled her a "mental f**king midget."

Meanwhile, Schaub noted that Rousey's father committed suicide and suggested that the unfortunate incident likely played a role in 'Rowdy' having similar thoughts after her loss against Holm. He also insinuated that Rousey's legendary Judoka mother, AnnMaria De Mars, has always had high expectations from her, which contributed to the pressure on 'Rowdy.'

Strickland indicated that rich, famous, and successful people like Rousey shouldn't have suicidal thoughts. Moreover, 'Tarzan' explained that he once urged his own father to commit suicide:

"I want to tell you about my dad. My dad was laying in bed one day with a .45. I f*****g walked up and he was talking about suicide. I said 'You should f***ing do it.' I was like 17 at the time. 'Your wife left you, you're unemployed, you're a f***ing drug addict. You should do it.' He didn't f***ing do it and died at 50 something of cancer, f***ing miserable."

Strickland asserted that irrespective of how much wealth people like his father are given, they'd always end up miserable, vindictive, and shady. 'Tarzan' implied that his father's life was miserable, and he intended to end his father's misery:

"That's why I gave my dad the gun and it was more like putting a dog down."

Check out Strickland's comments at 27:53 in the video below:

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What's next for UFC middleweight Sean Strickland?

Sean Strickland holds the No. 5 position in the UFC middleweight rankings. The 32-year-old American's most recent fight witnessed him defeat Abusupiyan Magomedov via second-round TKO in July 2023. Strickland is on a two-fight win streak and will compete for the UFC middleweight title next.

Sean Strickland is scheduled to face MMA megastar and reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya this weekend. The Adesanya-Strickland UFC middleweight championship matchup will headline UFC 293. Their fight will transpire at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on September 9, 2023 (September 10 AEST).