Sean Strickland has built his reputation on a brash persona, often firing shots at women’s MMA and lobbing insults at celebrities like Megan Fox. Throughout the years, fans have grown to anticipate some crazy moments from him. Recently, though, he’s been in the news for a different reason: some scuffles outside the cage. For ‘Tarzan’, stepping into brawls outside the cage is nothing out of the ordinary.  At UFC 296 in December 2023, tensions boiled over inside T-Mobile Arena when Strickland got into a heated confrontation with then-rival Dricus Du Plessis.

Although neither fighter was on the card, their exchange quickly turned into a full-blown brawl in the crowd. Dana White condemned the incident, but the commission took no formal action. Fast forward to last month, Sean Strickland crossed the line again — and this time, the fallout could be far more severe, possibly delaying his highly anticipated rematch with Israel Adesanya.

Sean Strickland’s fate hangs on next week’s commission ruling

Last month, while fans were celebrating Ilia Topuria’s highlight-reel knockout at UFC 317, chaos broke out across town at the Tuff-N-Uff 145 event in Las Vegas. One of Sean Strickland’s teammates was competing on that card. After the fight, Luis Hernandez reportedly yelled “F–k you” at Strickland — prompting him and fellow UFC middleweight Chris Curtis to storm the cage. Strickland confronted Hernandez and threw punches, sparking a full-blown melee.

This time, the Nevada State Athletic Commission stepped in. According to senior journalist Damon Martin, who shared a screenshot of the official document on X, Sean Strickland is now facing disciplinary action. The document states: “Hearing on extension of temporary suspension for mixed martial artist Sean Strickland, for possible action.”

Martin offered further context, explaining: “Sean Strickland is on the Nevada Athletic Commission’s agenda for next week and it appears he’s been suspended for that incident where he rushed in the cage at that Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas. The hearing for an extension of the temporary suspension.”

It looks like the commission is determined to take disciplinary action against Strickland, but the person affected, Luis Hernandez, apparently isn’t keen on pressing charges. No matter how the brawl kicked off, the aftermath has surprisingly boosted Hernandez’s visibility in the combat sports scene, turning him into one of the few names to gain fame after crossing paths with a UFC star. At the end of the day, it’s ‘Tarzan’ — not Chris Curtis — who is now dealing with the biggest fallout from the outburst.

Chris Curtis weighs in on Strickland’s looming punishment

Sean Strickland has built a reputation as a viral firebrand — never hesitating to take shots at anyone, whether it’s former U.S. President Donald Trump or controversial global issues. But in a surprising twist, his longtime friend and teammate Chris Curtis found himself caught in the crossfire during ‘Tarzan’s latest headline-grabbing moment. The incident in question took place at a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas, where rising fighter Luis Hernandez reportedly taunted both Strickland and Curtis in a manner many viewed as blatantly disrespectful.

What followed quickly turned chaotic: Sean Strickland charged into the cage and threw punches, while Chris Curtis grabbed Hernandez by the neck — a confrontation that instantly went viral. Following the dust-up, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) took disciplinary action against both men. Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani after his UFC Nashville win, ‘The Action Man’ opened up about the fallout.

“I got a punishment for it, Sean got punished for it, so at that point, you have to take your lickings and you can’t really argue,” Curtis continued. “I ended up paying a decent little penny for it…got a fine, Sean got some other stuff, which I’ll let him tell people about that at some point, I’m not going to out his personal business. But I got an interesting fine, I’m not barred from cornering, mine was a bit different from Sean’s. I’m fine, they just got me with a nice little fine.”

Strickland’s response at the Tuff-N-Uff event stirred up a lot of discussion. Was that outburst really needed? Or did the provocation make his actions somewhat justifiable? What do you think? Do you think his reaction at the Tuff-N-Uff event was too much, or can you see why he responded that way given the provocation? Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments section below.