After a video of him narrowly avoiding getting into a brawl at a rock-climbing gym went viral online, MMA fighter Sean Strickland has publicly responded, giving his side of the story in an attempt to do some damage control.


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The video isn’t great; Strickland and his brother can be seen swearing at other men, telling them to shut up and that they’re going to get themselves hurt while the other men stand there calmly. At one point, Strickland’s brother even tells the guys, “This would be a life-changing event for you. I promise, you will be hurt,” which is a deranged thing to say in any situation but particularly over what is seemingly a minor disagreement at a rock-climbing gym.



In response to one viral tweet of the video, Strickland explained that he chose this gym because they let you use your own rope and let you clip in and climb whatever route you want. “So I’m there for about 45 minutes and I meet this pretty dope female climber, so we start climbing together and talking,” he continued. “Literally just being friendly, not hitting on her anything.”


It was at this point the girl’s boyfriend, the man in the video, walks up and asks Strickland if he had a certification, because one was required to climb at the gym. He was outraged, he argued, because “I had zero idea you needed one. No one told me. I was mad because you could of asked me when I signed the waiver, or when I paid, or when I was climbing but instead you chose to ask me 45 minutes in after I meet your girl.”


His main issue, he explained, was that it was “just a cunt move to do,” as if he was saying, “I don’t like you being friends with my girl, show me your certification, ok now leave.”


“Lmao well played sir... but yes I very much wanted to hit him but I didn’t want to go to jail more lol,” Strickland concluded.


What an amazing display of restraint on Strickland’s part: Deciding to control his anger enough to stop himself beating a random guy to a pulp over a question of climbing certification is truly impressive. Well done, Sean! Those anger-management classes are really paying dividends.