Sean Strickland's mental struggles deserve the same treatment as Alexander Volkanovski, says Daniel Cormier

Sean Strickland has failed to draw the sympathy of the MMA fandom over his mental health struggles, something that Daniel Cormier finds unacceptable, as fans from all walks of life showered the similarly troubled Alexander Volkanovski with an outpouring of support during his UFC 294 post-fight breakdown.

Taking to his official YouTube channel, 'DC' implored the world to afford Strickland the same level of empathy and sympathy that was afforded to Volkanovski.

"Sean Strickland is a guy that has a very, very dark past. We all know that, but that dark past has served to make him a world champion fighter. And a guy that is willing to go through so much adversity said he's rich and still can't get past the hurdles mentally. I want to make sure that we as the consumer treat this in the same manner in which we treated Alexander Volkanovski when he spoke about his issues mentally."

He further called on his fellow fighters to reach out to Strickland themselves and offer him a safe space in which to heal from the harrowing ordeal of his past.

"Whether you love or hate him, we have to take to look at the human being, because when Volk said he was in his own head, we all rushed to speak to him. We need to make sure we do the same thing for Sean Strickland."

Check out Daniel Cormier's thoughts on mental health in MMA:

Strickland recently opened up about his mental struggles, which he has not managed to overcome despite now having fame and wealth. Unfortunately, he may struggle to find a sympathetic ear, given how dismissive he has been of other similarly struggling fighters, like Khalil Rountree Jr.

This streak of hypocrisy was further highlighted by Dricus du Plessis, who criticized the former middleweight champion for targeting Ian Garry's wife, Layla Anna-Lee, only to claim that family ought to be off-limits in trash talk once his own past was targeted.

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Sean Strickland's mental health was a theme in his last fight

After dethroning Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland faced Dricus du Plessis. At the 2024 Seasonal Press Conference, his foe brought up the physical abuse that Strickland had been subjected to by his father during his childhood.

"If you bring that sh*t up again, I will f***ing stab you."

Check out Sean Strickland threatening Dricus du Plessis (0:05):

This struck a nerve with Strickland, who erupted into a homophobic rant before later threatening to du Plessis if he dared bring it up again. Ultimately, it never was, and the two fought without incident at UFC 297, where Strickland lost his belt to the South African.