Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has triggered a wave of condemnation after declaring women's sports irrelevant at a Paramount+ media day in Houston, Texas, telling reporters the only reason anyone watches female fighters is 'for jerking off'.
Strickland, currently ranked third in the middleweight division and headlining UFC Fight Night against Anthony 'Fluffy' Hernandez this Saturday at the Toyota Centre, made the remarks during a session that was clipped and circulating online within hours.
A journalist asked Strickland about the recently confirmed superfight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, announced on 17 February and scheduled for 16 May at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The bout, to be streamed exclusively on Netflix under Most Valuable Promotions, marks Rousey's return after a 10-year retirement and Carano's first fight in 17 years.
What followed was not a breakdown of their athletic records.
Strickland told the room the matchup was 'insane' and said it would only be worth watching if the fighters were 'half naked,'transcriptsreported by Variety show. He then offered unsolicited personal commentary on Carano. 'I like Gina,' he said. 'I was like a kid when she fought. I may have jerked off to her once or twice back in the day.'
He declared flatly that 'no one gives a fuck about women's sports,' before suggesting women's contribution was that they 'cook, they clean.'
Strickland did not walk any of it back when pressed. Whether he thought those comments would land differently two days after the Rousey-Carano announcement made global headlines is, frankly, hard to fathom.
Thefull media day session, which is typically archived by combat sports news outlets, shows Strickland doubling down on these comments when pressed on the relevance and appeal of women's MMA compared to male fights. These remarks built on a pattern of controversial statements the Californian fighter has made about women in combat sports over the years.
Sean Strickland just WENT OFF on the Super Bowl Halftime show“I don’t even wanna say that f*****s name. The NFL used to be the standard of being a man. Now think they get together every year and say how do we f*****g ruin this sport, how do we gay it up”pic.twitter.com/1k7AdU3HFi
Female fighters moved quickly. MMA reporter Ariel Helwani pointed to the commercial record: Rousey headlined pay-per-view cards drawing substantial global figures; Amanda Nunes, widely regarded as the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time, has topped multiple major events. The data did not support Strickland's position, and advocates were not shy about saying so.
Source: International Business Times UK
