Sean Strickland is undoubtedly one UFC guy who is willing to take on practically any challenge. One of the best middleweight competitors in the UFC, Strickland just defeated Nassourdine Imavov last month. His broke a losing streak and went into 2023 with a win.
While he waits for his next clash, Strickland has been keeping himself occupied with some enjoyable activities. One of them appears to be sparring with other professional athletes at the UFC Performance Institute.
The University of Pittsburgh defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado and Strickland were recently caught on camera sparring. The 23-year-old was born in Italy and immigrated to America in 2017. Last month, he was called for the NFL draft which is scheduled to take place in April, last month.
The UFC star can be seen moving about and sparring with the NFL prospect in a recent Instagram video that Strickland shared on his page. The UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas served as the venue for the sparring event.
The sparring match was rather intense. Strickland can be heard pleading with Baldonado in the video to strike him hard.
Strickland is no stranger to massive opponents, he famously trains at Xtreme Couture alongside Francis Ngannou.
“It’s a damn shame to see Francis go. He’s f**king iconic in the UFC. He’s probably one of the greatest heavyweights we’ve ever had. It sucks he parted ways but I hope him and Tyson Fury fight for a lot of f**king money.”
If the bout with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury occurs, Strickland said that Ngannou will have achieved the goal he has been chasing for a very long time:
“It stinks that he’s leaving, but congratulations to Francis if he can get that lucrative match with Tyson. Enjoy your money and go f**k yourself.”
In his post-fight octagon interview earlier the same evening, Strickland expressed his sadness for Stephan Bonnar’s passing and emphasized the need for better fighter treatment.
“I want to give my condolences to Bonnar man. The guy f**king paved the way for the sport. With the old beat-up fighters man, after we’re in this f**king sport, we’re nobody. We’re usually broke with nothing going on for us. So give support to these old dogs.”