- Sean Strickland is preparing to defend his middleweight title at UFC 297
- American was gifted a golden gun on the first episode of UFC Embedded
- He said he was almost emotional at the gift, which was inscribed with his name
Sean Strickland already boasts a few weapons of his own but none quite like the golden gun he was gifted in the lead-up to UFC 297.
In the first episode of UFC Embedded, that follows fighters ahead of an event, the middleweight champion is seen receiving a special gift from his manager.
Strickland is filmed entering a shop, saying: ‘We’re going to my buddy’s gun shop, so when you see me shooting machine guns, this is where we do it.
‘Bro I’ve never been gifted a gun before. It’s nice, that is so dope. This is so f*****g dope, it’s epic.’
Manager Lance Spaude then shakes his hand and says: ‘I thought you’d like it.’
Sean Strickland was given a gift of a golden semi-automatic weapon by his manager
The gun was unwrapped by the UFC champion on the first episode of UFC Embedded
Strickland explains: ‘I don’t generally like gifts. I make a lot of money and anything I want to buy I could buy myself, dude.
‘But thank you, it makes me a little emotional. This is going on my wall, nobody break into my house.’
The golden semi-automatic weapon had ‘Sean Strickland’ engraved onto it to add a personal touch, while the butt and grip were in black.
Strickland regularly posts videos of himself firing guns at the shooting range and is known for his wild life outside the octagon.
The American was a surprise title winner last year when he delivered a stunning upset over Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight belt.
And he’s in action this Saturday in Toronto against South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis for his first defence. The build-up has been marred by a grim back-and-forth about remarks Du Plessis made regarding Strickland’s traumatic childhood.
At a press conference last month, Du Plessis shouted: ‘You think your dad beat the s*** out of you? Your dad doesn’t have s*** on me… every childhood memory you have is going to come back when I’m in there with you.’
Strickland has since opened up in detail during an emotional interview about the alleged abuse he suffered from his father while growing up.
Strickland (left) takes on Du Plessis (right) in the main event of UFC 297 this Saturday
Strickland secured one of the biggest upset in the history of the sport against Israel Adesanya
And this week even went as far as to threaten Strickland, saying he’ll ‘stab’ him if he brings it up again this week.
For Du Plessis, there are no regrets about his comments, which he says have had a massive impact – though he has no intention of ‘hammering’ them home again before fight night.
The remarks led to the pair scrapping in the crowd of UFC 296 last month and present the compelling backdrop to Saturday night.
A year ago, very few would have predicted this title fight such is the nature of elite MMA that it only takes a couple of brilliant performances to change a career.
Strickland has already achieved that and will be looking to defend the UFC gold he can hang up on his wall alongside his new gift.
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