Sean
Strickland had some choice words about his opponent’s coach on
Saturday. | Getty/UFC
Sean
Strickland drew fuel from his anger toward Anthony
Hernandez’s coach, Jim West.
Strickland (30-7) faced Hernandez in the main event at
UFC Houston on Saturday. Unlike most of his other opponents,
Strickland couldn’t find a reason to hate Hernandez. Strickland
then directed his anger towards Hernandez’s coach, West. It
certainly paid off as Strickland looked in his element en route to
a third-round stoppage win over “Fluffy.”
Strickland subsequently accused West of grooming former UFC fighter
Aspen
Ladd. Strickland claims Ladd was still a minor when West
started grooming her. However, Strickland’s tirade was cut short as his mic was muted, and the press
conference abruptly ended.
On a Tirade
“I kept thinking there’s no f—-ing way I’m gonna let this predator
beat me and have a victory over me,” Strickland said. “So my
motivation was thinking about Jim West. I f—-ing hate that guy. I
love ‘Fluffy,’ he’s a standup guy. Is there anybody that’s 35
around here? Can you picture being 35 years old and meeting a sweet
little Aspen Ladd
and saying, ‘I’m gonna marry her when she turns 18.’ That’s what
f—-ing Jim West did. So whenever I was in that cage and me and
‘Fluffy’ were locked in and I’m looking at Jim West, I was like,
‘F—k this guy, I’m not letting this mothe—-r… I wasn’t fighting
‘Fluffy,’ I was fighting Jim West.’”
Known for expressing his unhinged opinions, Strickland has also
previously accused Pat Barry of
grooming former UFC strawweight champion Rose
Namajunas. Meanwhile, West has previously faced backlash for
aggressively cornering his partner, Ladd. Ladd
returned to the Octagon after nearly a two-year hiatus in 2021
against Norma
Dumont. West aggressively slammed Ladd for inactivity in
between rounds, which was even demmed abusive by some. West subsequently issued an
apology for his unprofessional cornering.