Sean Strickland gives NSFW advice to fellow UFC 293 fighter after little-known sparring session

Sean Strickland seemingly imparted NSFW advice to a fellow UFC 293 fighter ahead of the event. Strickland faced then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a title matchup that headlined UFC 293 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on September 10, 2023.

In what many regard as a major upset, America's Strickland dominantly defeated the Nigeria-born New Zealand fighter Adesanya via unanimous decision to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Elsewhere on the UFC 293 main card, Sweden's Anton Turkalj faced Australia's Tyson Pedro in a light heavyweight bout. The main card opening match witnessed Pedro secure a spectacular first-round KO victory over Turkalj.

In an edition of The Man Dance podcast, hosts Sean Strickland and UFC middleweight Chris Curtis addressed the Pedro-Turkalj matchup and appeared to mock Turklaj's moniker. Besides, Strickland indicated that Turklaj served as his sparring partner after they arrived in Australia. 'Tarzan' stated:

"So, we got there early, and I didn't have any sparring. So, he pretty much, just like, me and him sparred all week, and he wasn't bad. But like, you could watch the fight [Pedro vs. Turkalj]..."

'Tarzan' then alluded that Tyson Pedro's appearance implies that he's an incredibly angry fighter who's had a tough upbringing. Noting that Pedro would likely throw heavy strikes, Strickland recalled advising Anton Turklaj to spar hard and be more courageous. The 32-year-old said:

"So, I'm training with Mr. Anton, and he's just like, playing patty-cake. And I'm like, I didn't know who Tyson Pedro is. But, my dude, like, you're about to fight a man who, if there's no ref, wants to kill you. I was like, 'Close your f**king hands and throw bombs.'"

He added:

"So, I'm not saying that Anton's not a bad fighter, but the n*ts need to get a lot f**king bigger if he wants to be in the UFC."

Watch Strickland and Curtis discuss the topic at 2:50 in the video below:

---

What's next for UFC middleweight kingpin Sean Strickland?

In the aftermath of Sean Strickland's win against UFC megastar Israel Adesanya, UFC CEO Dana White expressed interest in booking an immediate title rematch between them. Nevertheless, White later clarified that the UFC could look at other options for Strickland's next octagon outing.

During his aforementioned podcast episode with teammate Chris Curtis, Sean Strickland explained that he aims to make as much money as possible as the UFC middleweight champion. Strickland highlighted that be it a rematch against Adesanya or a fight against someone else, he'd like to face an exciting opponent who'll help garner significant PPV revenues and lucrative pay for him.