Sean Strickland has unleashed on Matt Mitrione after the heavyweight spoke up in defense of the relationship between Pat Barry and UFC strawweight Rose Namajunas.
Sean Strickland has quickly become one of the most outspoken members of the MMA community. He has been unafraid to tackle any subject, regardless of how taboo the take or subject matter.
This includes the personal relationships of his peers, namely the coach/fighter romantic relationships between Jim West and UFC womenās bantamweight Aspen Ladd and that of Namajunas and Barry.
Strickland has publicly condemned both relationships by classifying them as cases of sexual predators grooming underage girls. Ladd is rumored to have met West when she was 12, and Namajunas reportedly met Barry for the first time when she was 14. More recently, most of Stricklandās attention has been placed on the relationship between Namajunas and Barry.
That attention would increase this week after Barry touched on Stricklandās comments earlier this week in an appearance on The MMA Hour .
While Barry did not offer Stricklandās remarks much of a response, he did state that Strickland has always been friendly with him and Namajunas and also that those closest to them, including family members, understand the true story and all the pertaining facts behind their relationship.
After media outlets began to run Barryās comments, Strickland would again take aim and fire.
āHereās the thing guys 99 percent of what I say is usually wrongā¦ This is not that timeā¦ @rosenamajunas@TheAspenLadd like my post if you need help. Iāll treat Pat Berry and Jim West like they treat minorā¦ Without consent, although it wonāt be behind closed doors lmao!ā
Strickland Blasts Matt Mitrione For Defending Barry
Last week, days out from Namajunasā UFC 274 bout against Carla Esparza, heavyweight MMA veteran Matt Mitrione addressed Stricklandās remarks on a podcast.
Mitrione has been a professional mixed martial artist since 2009. He spent seven years in the UFC, defeating names like Shawn Jordan, Gabriel Gonzaga, and even KO king Derrick Lewis. Mitrione joined Bellator MMA in 2016 and has gone winless in his last five fights.
In the clip below, Mitrione takes a strong tone in personally addressing Strickland, accusing the middleweight of not knowing what heās talking about.
āI was there. I was at Duke Roufusā gym when Rose was 17 years old. I was there on her 18th birthday. I was there for the conversation that Rose had with me (and) was like, āHey, how do you think Pat feels about this situation? Iām turning 18 tomorrow and I want to ask him to date. I love who he is, I love his energy, I love how excited he is, I think heās a great human being.ā
āAnd Rose knew from the jump, from the jump that Pat was gonna be somebody who was in her life forever and ever. So for you to run your mouth, talking about whatever kind of bullshit youāre talking about, calling my good buddy Pat a predator when you donāt know what the fuck youāre talking about, that really kinda bothers me a little bit.ā
Days after the podcast episode, it was revealed that Strickland was quite bothered as well. Strickland fired back at Mitrione for what he considered to be defending a predator while also being ignorant of the definition of āgrooming.ā
āSo Matt Mitrione, I heard you had some shit to say about me and how what I said doesnāt sit well with you. Well, let me tell you, Matt: I donāt give a fuck what sits well with you. Youāre a fucking can. Whenās the last time you won a fucking fight? Arenāt you like 0-8 right now? Youāre a fucking loser. Me and you arenāt even in the same fucking category.
āBut Iām gonna address what you said about Pat Barry waiting till she was 18. Do you understand what fucking āgroomingā means? And mind you, I donāt give a fuck about Rose, I donāt give a fuck about you, I donāt give a fuck about Pat. Iām just stating the facts ā that fucking Rose was groomed by Pat Barry. And you defending him, you fucking loser, why donāt we go and fucking check whatās on your fucking laptop, you fucking can?ā
For good measure, Strickland would be sure to let Jim West know that he has not forgotten about him, either.
āAnd Jim West, youāre the same fuckinā weirdo. And I donāt understand why nobody fuckinā talks about you, but we all fuckinā know what youāre doing, too.ā
Who the fuck is Sean Strickland?
Stricklandās not wrong hereā¦I get wanting to speak up for a friend, but Meatheads ādefenseā doesnāt exactly help this situation. 17/18 dating a 30/31 yr old is not a good look eitherā¦it just adds fuel to the fire. That whole situation is weird
Seriously? Hes a wild mother fucker lol. His Instagram was fun
Sean is definitely not wrong. Rose was groomed. This shit happens in mma & martial arts schools all the time.
If Sean is lying, they should press charges for slander, simple
Lol yeah the fuck right thatās how it happenedā¦
Were you there?
Gross, no.
I think this is hard to say one way or another without knowing the relationship they had. Maybe they were training in same building but rarely interacted?
Plenty of my friends parents had a 8 + year age gap, and I never thought anything of it. If she was 24 when they started dating would it be that different?
To be honest, not sure how many guys would turn down an 18 year old Rose?