UFC's Sean Strickland Declares 'No One Gives A F**k' About Women's Sports, Faces Backlash

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has triggered a wave of condemnation after declaring women's sports irrelevant at a Paramount+ media day in Houston, Texas, telling reporters the only reason anyone watches female fighters is 'for jerking off'.

Strickland, currently ranked third in the middleweight division and headlining UFC Fight Night against Anthony 'Fluffy' Hernandez this Saturday at the Toyota Centre, made the remarks during a session that was clipped and circulating online within hours.

What He Actually Said

A journalist asked Strickland about the recently confirmed superfight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, announced on 17 February and scheduled for 16 May at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The bout, to be streamed exclusively on Netflix under Most Valuable Promotions, marks Rousey's return after a 10-year retirement and Carano's first fight in 17 years.

What followed was not a breakdown of their athletic records.

Strickland told the room the matchup was 'insane' and said it would only be worth watching if the fighters were 'half naked,' transcripts reported by Variety show. He then offered unsolicited personal commentary on Carano. 'I like Gina,' he said. 'I was like a kid when she fought. I may have jerked off to her once or twice back in the day.'

He declared flatly that 'no one gives a fuck about women's sports,' before suggesting women's contribution was that they 'cook, they clean.'

Strickland did not walk any of it back when pressed. Whether he thought those comments would land differently two days after the Rousey-Carano announcement made global headlines is, frankly, hard to fathom.

The full media day session, which is typically archived by combat sports news outlets, shows Strickland doubling down on these comments when pressed on the relevance and appeal of women's MMA compared to male fights. These remarks built on a pattern of controversial statements the Californian fighter has made about women in combat sports over the years.

The Backlash

Female fighters moved quickly. MMA reporter Ariel Helwani pointed to the commercial record: Rousey headlined pay-per-view cards drawing substantial global figures; Amanda Nunes, widely regarded as the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time, has topped multiple major events. The data did not support Strickland's position, and advocates were not shy about saying so.

UFC has not issued a statement. The organisation has a habit of waiting out Strickland controversies rather than confronting them, and this one looks no different.

Criticism extended well beyond the octagon. Sports commentators noted the same pattern repeating across disciplines: dismissal of women's sport followed immediately by numbers showing the opposite. WNBA viewership, the FIFA Women's World Cup, women's MMA divisions: all have shown consistent audience growth. The Rousey-Carano announcement alone, made just 48 hours before Strickland's remarks, generated the kind of global media coverage most fight promoters would pay rather a lot for.

A Fighter Who Keeps Finding Trouble

Strickland is not new to controversy. In July 2025, the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed him a six-month suspension and a £4,000 ($5,000) fine after he punched a fighter while serving as a cornerman at a Tuff-N-Uff event. He lost his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 312 on 9 February 2025; the belt now sits with Khamzat Chimaev, who captured it at UFC 319 in August.

Previous public remarks about the LGBTQ+ community and various political issues are documented across years of news coverage. None of it has proved career-limiting so far.

For the UFC, a multi-billion-pound operation tied to Paramount+ for all major events, the reputational arithmetic is getting harder to manage. Sponsors and equity advocates are beginning to ask publicly what the organisation's long-standing 'fighter expression' defence is actually worth.

Strickland headlines UFC Fight Night against Anthony Hernandez at the Toyota Centre in Houston this Saturday, 21 February 2026. UFC had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

The discourse sparked by his remarks has overshadowed much of the athletic build-up, drawing focus instead to cultural fault lines in sport and society. The incident adds to ongoing debates about gender equity in athletics and the responsibilities of high-profile athletes to support rather than undermine the legitimacy of their peers.