Sean Strickland has never had a problem calling out what he sees as selective outrage, and his latest target is Dana White’s shifting standard for who gets grief over their public statements and who gets a pass over their past.
According to sources, the flashpoint was Dana White’s comments about Josh Hokit, the flyweight set to headline against Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 334. White made it clear that Hokit’s mouth has gotten under his skin, even as he confirmed the match was moving forward.
“I don’t police what people say and any of that stuff if you keep winning. I say it all the time, I don’t have to like you for you to thrive here and for you to do well, and be successful,” White said.
He kept going, making it plain that his issue with Hokit runs deeper than a single soundbite.
“Many people that I do not like have done well here, so. I’m not saying I don’t like Josh Hokit, but I literally don’t like anything Josh Hokit says, so. And that’s not going to change unless he changes, which I don’t see happening.”
Hokit fired back at the boss on social media, and that’s when Strickland stepped into the conversation.
Rather than defend Hokit’s specific comments, Strickland used the moment to draw a comparison that had nothing to do with trash talk and everything to do with how differently the promotion treats its athletes depending on who they are.
“Bro hes acting like you got accused of violently [ ] a girl with your buddy in college…..” Strickland wrote, without naming names.
The line was unmistakably aimed at Gable Steveson, the Olympic wrestling standout turned UFC heavyweight. Back in 2019, Steveson was arrested on suspicion of SA conduct alongside fellow University of Minnesota wrestler Dylan Martinez, a case that led to both being suspended from the school’s wrestling program.
The Hennepin County attorney’s office later declined to press charges, stating the case didn’t clear the bar of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
That chapter resurfaced earlier this month when Sean Sharaf brought it up ahead of his matchup with Steveson at UFC 331. Steveson largely stayed silent on the subject rather than address it head on, and while a portion of the crowd let him hear it with boos both before and after the bout. Additionally, Sharaf ended up getting his hand raised in their match.
To hammer the point home, Strickland also brought up a name from further back in UFC history.
“At this point I think its only fair to let Miguel Torres back in the UFC. Call it the twitter loophole. You cant make this [ ] up lol!!!!!!!!!!!!”
According to sources, Torres was a former WEC bantamweight champion who was released by the promotion years ago after a joke he posted online was deemed inappropriate by the very same Dana White who now frames himself as unbothered by athletes speaking their minds as long as they keep winning.
For Strickland, that history makes White’s current framing look less like a consistent philosophy and more like a standard that bends depending on the athlete and the moment.
Strickland didn’t stop at the Steveson comparison either. In a separate post the same day, he threw his support behind Sean Sharaf, celebrating the win that came after Sharaf had been willing to say publicly what much of the promotion seemed content to leave unspoken.
“MY MAN!!!!! BRO LETS GO!!!!” Strickland posted. “Sean Sharaf legend”
