Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has had an eventful end to the week, finding time to spar with social media influencer Sneako while also getting into a verbal altercation in person with Machine Gun Kelly and online with Jake Paul.
Sneako gained a big following as a game streamer on YouTube and Twitch, before increasingly controversial content as an influencer saw him booted off both platforms, leading him to make Rumble his new home.
And it was on Rumble that he live streamed a sparring session between himself and Sean Strickland, who he had previously called out on social media.
Of course everyone knows Strickland is not one to turn down such opportunities and so he duly obliged, resulting in a round of boxing at the UFC’s own Performance Institute facility in Las Vegas.
And Strickland opted to just let Sneako hit him to the body and face for the first few minutes, aside from occasionally taunting him.
“As we get closer to the 3 minute mark you’re going to feel a significant more amount of pain,” Strickland informed Sneako at one point as he casually walked into whatever the influencer was willing to throw at him.
However, that deadline came and went as Strickland decided to continue to let Sneako keep punching, while telling him, “at this moment you’re realizing that you cannot hurt me.”
Of course the good times were only ever going to last so long, and eventually Strickland decided it was time to go to work, mercilessly unleashing a barrage of punches to the head and body, ignoring several towels being thrown into the Octagon until eventually someone jumped in to save the now bloodied up Sneako from being knocked out.
“Hey, the fact that you did not fall down is a testament,” Strickland told Sneako afterwards. “Bro, I was trying to. All you had to do was fall and I would’ve stopped. That was a testament.”
Sneako spars former UFC champ Sean Strickland pic.twitter.com/NYGDs6q8oJ
— AISNEAKIO (@AISneakio) February 9, 2024
Sean Strickland tells Sneako why he didn’t stop punching him pic.twitter.com/Ge0e4iYZ3s
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 9, 2024
The video caught the attention of another influencer turned boxer Jake Paul, who threw down a challenge to Strickland.
“Shawn Strickland you’re embarrassing for trying to stop sneako like that,” Paul wrote on X. “you weren’t even able to drop someone with no experience while going all out You’re a horrid boxer that only picks on inexperienced people..
“I’ll fly you to PR and we can fight on camera… if you win I’ll give you $1 million (half your net worth)
“But if you get dropped you have to get Betr tattooed on you. DM me. But just like paddy I’m guessing you’ll find a way to run.”
Strickland had a better idea though.
“Actually Jake I’ll make you a better deal because money can’t buy happiness and you have plenty of it and youre still a c*nt…. No cameras, me and you in a desert… That would buy my happiness… No Instagram, no likes, no games…. Just you that’s what I want,” Strickland replied.
As if that wasn’t enough, Strickland also managed to get in a bit of verbal sparring with Machine Gun Kelly at last night’s Slap Fighting event in Las Vegas that was caught on camera.
In the video footage Strickland can be seen gesturing towards the rapper while saying, “he’s just a weird dude.”
MGK then leans in and says something to Strickland that isn’t picked up on mic, but it seemed to annoy the former champ, who made fun of his appearance and informed him, “I’m easy to find, vampire man,” before going over to take photos with other fans in attendance.
“You can’t bring Sean Strickland around any other human beings,” Dana White later noted when asked for his thoughts on the incident. “You know what I mean? It has nothing to do with Machine Gun Kelly. It’s about humans.”
