Sean Strickland isn’t staying quiet about Dan Henderson’s version of how things ended at Team Quest.
The former UFC middleweight champion denied being kicked out of the gym and offered a different timeline than what Henderson shared on The Overdogs Podcast. According to Henderson, Strickland’s social media antics and over-the-top training room energy caused tension with other fighters and ultimately led to his removal.
“You know, he got in little argument matches with some of the guys that thought he was going too hard,” Henderson said. “Then he would go online and talk shit about them and he did it a little bit too much. Just more socially, I didn’t care what happened in the room. When you send it out to everybody to hear all that shit, it’s just disrespectful for your training partners, guys that are in there training with you to help you out as well. He just did it too many times, I warned him a bunch, and then finally just said, ‘Hey dude, you’ve got to go.’”
Henderson clarified that he still respected Strickland’s work ethic, but the public trash talk became too much.
“But he was a good training partner and I enjoyed having him in there and liked having a guy that is in there that goes hard.”
Strickland quickly fired back, denying that he was forced out of Team Quest. He claimed Henderson retired, the gym’s fight team collapsed, and that’s when he made the move to Xtreme Couture.
“None of this is true,” Strickland wrote. “I was Dan’s main training partner for his last fight. He retired, the fight team fell off and when it was time to renew my membership I left… but he is correct I would make fun of the fight team constantly.
“They would do yoga and skip sparring lol [Keith Berry] I’m talking about you haha funny thing is we’re both at [Xtreme Couture] and spar regularly now.”
Sean Strickland built his name on being unfiltered. Whether he’s torching influencers online or roughing up teammates in sparring, he leans into the chaos. That behavior hasn’t always sat well with everyone in the gym, but it didn’t stop him from reaching the top of the sport.
Strickland shocked the world when he dominated Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight title at UFC 293. His reign didn’t last long, though, Dricus Du Plessis beat him in a split decision four months later.
Whether he’s feuding with UFC legends or mocking former teammates, Sean Strickland continues to live by his own rules. And no matter who’s telling the story, he’s always got something to say in return.
