Sean Strickland hasn’t always been Kayla Harrison’s biggest fan, but these days he’s become a genuine supporter of the UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
In fact, in a new video post the UFC middleweight champ admits that the former two-time Olympic judo gold medalist has been getting the better of him on the mat.
“Who f***ed you up?” Harrison asked Strickland on her Instagram Stories after a recent training session.
“Hey, guys, Kayla, she tapped me out like 20 times. She did some Japanese throw that I can’t pronounce because I’m American. I’m not a f–ing communist.”
“I’m also American!” Harrison responded while laughing.
This friendly banter is a long way removed from a post Strickland made about Harrison on X a few years ago, describing her as a “glorified can-crusher,” while she was enjoying a dominant run in the PFL promotion.
“Watching Kayla Harrison struggle with this low-level girl just reminds me why she’s not in the UFC,” Strickland had wrote on X. “Stay in the PFL; take your easy W’s in the scrub league.”
Harrison was able to meet Strickland eat his words though by eventually joining the UFC and going on a four-fight winning streak against the likes of Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Julianna Pena to win the 135lb title.
However, Strickland really changed his tune after having a chance to train with Harrison personally some time ago, to the extent that these days he actually considers her a friend.
“I actually love Kayla Harrison,” Strickland told MMA Junkie last year. “No, I actually, Kayla, you guys, don’t judge me when I say this, but when you see Kayla real dolled up at a press conference, every now and then I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. Who is that?’
“And I’m, ‘Oh, f—, that’s Kayla.’ I hate myself. But Kayla, I love you, man. Kayla’s a savage.”
After seeing Harrison’s latest video post though, perhaps Strickland is just saying that so she’ll go easier on him in training.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this mean Strickland is turning over a new leaf though, as another new video has just emerged of him choking a fan at the beach.
