Following his TKO victory over Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez at UFC Houston, Sean Strickland had his microphone cut during the post-bout press conference after making comments about Hernandez’s coach Jim West and former UFC star Aspen Ladd.
The controversy began when Strickland was asked about his performance against Hernandez. Rather than focusing solely on the technical aspects of the bout, Strickland revealed his true motivation for the match stemmed from his disdain for West, who coaches multiple UFC star at MMA Gold in El Dorado Hills, California.
“I noticed in the corner of my eye, Jim West that motherf***er’s looking at me. And I look at Jim West. You’ll see if you look at the match I like veer off. I’m looking at Jim West. I kept thinking there’s no way I’m going to let this f**king pred*tor beat me and have a victory over me,” Strickland stated.
He then elaborated on his feelings toward the coach, bringing Ladd directly into the conversation. “My motivation was thinking about like Jim West. I f**king ha te that guy. Like, you know what’s crazy? Like, I love Fluffy. He’s a standup guy.”
He continued: “Is there anybody that’s 35 around here? Anybody know close to 35 years old? Can you picture being 35 years old and meeting a sweet little 14-year-old Aspen Ladd and saying, ‘I’m gonna marry her when she turns 18.’ That’s what f**king Jim West did.”
Strickland continued, making it clear that his animosity toward West fueled his performance in the octagon.
“So whenever I was in that cage and me and Fluffy were locked in and I’m looking over at Jim West and I was like, ‘F**k this guy, I am not letting this motherf**ker…’ I wasn’t competing against Fluffy. I was competing against Jim West.”
When a reporter clarified they had not prompted these comments, Strickland responded, “Oh yeah, you baited the f**k out of me. But it was good. You made it interesting. I mean, these motherf**kers are so boring in this sport. Like these guys have no personality.”
The press conference was promptly ended following these remarks, with organizers stating “that’s a wrap” as Strickland’s microphone was cut.
Strickland pushed back, saying: “No, I got one for smoke. It ain’t a wrap, dawg. Relax.”
The relationship between West and Ladd has been a subject of discussion within the MMA community. West is the founder and head coach of MMA Gold, a Sacramento-area gym that has produced several UFC athletes including Hernandez, Max Griffin, and Andrea Lee.
Ladd, born in 1995, has stated in interviews that she began training in MMA at 15 years old and had to wait until she turned 18 to compete professionally.
There are conflicting accounts regarding when exactly Ladd began training under West. A co-founder of MMA Gold once claimed she joined the team at 17 after training jiu-jitsu elsewhere, while West has posted on social media suggesting he worked with her as early as 2011, when she would have been 16.
What is undisputed is that West, now in his mid-40s, knew Ladd during her teenage years. He was previously married and has a child from that marriage, though it remains unclear when his romantic relationship with Ladd began.
The relationship drew widespread scrutiny in 2021 following Ladd’s bout against Norma Dumont, when a between-rounds exchange between Ladd and West went viral. West’s stern and visibly harsh coaching approach prompted criticism from fellow competitors, most notably former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.
“Please, tell me what you’re doing?”
Aspen Ladd’s corner was not happy 😬
(via @jedigoodman)pic.twitter.com/NTxfrjhDfY
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 17, 2021
West later issued a public apology for his corner behavior, taking responsibility for his tone while defending his intentions as a coach.
