One former UFC champion has apparently been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following a viral moment at a Las Vegas MMA event.
As well-known for his outspoken persona as for his work inside the Octagon, Sean Strickland found himself at the forefront of MMA headlines late last month when he cornered his Xtreme Couture teammate Miles Hunsinger at Tuff-N-Uff 145 in Las Vegas.
After Hunsinger was forced to tap to a standing guillotine choke from Luis Hernandez, Strickland and fellow UFC fighter Chris Curtis both stormed into the cage and went after the unbeaten Hernandez.
Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland confronting Luis Hernandez at Tuff-N-Uff 145. / Tuff-N-Uff
The altercation at Tuff-N-Uff was unsurprisingly the talk of the MMA world for several days, and according to a recent report from Damon Martin the NSAC has temporarily suspended Strickland for his involvement in the incident.
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Sean Strickland (red gloves)celebrates defeating Paulo Costa (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Hernandez spoke to Ariel Helwani after the event to give his side of the story and claim that he’d only reciprocated Strickland’s trash talk before things escalated, and next week the NSAC will hold a hearing that could potentially extend the former UFC middleweight champion’s suspension.
A member of the UFC roster since 2014, Strickland bounced between middleweight and welterweight during the early part of his UFC run before he fully committed to 185 lbs. in 2020 and put together a six-fight win streak that famously ended when he was knocked out by Alex Pereira at UFC 276.
Sean Strickland (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Israel Adesanya (not pictured) during UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena. / Jasmin Frank-Imagn Images
The 34-year-old returned to title contention with back-to-back wins in 2023 before scoring a major upset over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to win the middleweight belt, but his reign as champion was cut short when Dricus du Plessis defeated him by split decision at UFC 297.
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Strickland bested former title challenger Paulo Costa later that year but suffered a lopsided loss in his rematch with du Plessis in February, and now it remains to be seen if an additional suspension from the NSAC will keep the former UFC champion sidelined for an extended period.
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