Sean Strickland Suspended After Chaotic Cage Invasion at Tuff-N-Uff Event in Las Vegas. Sean Strickland has always been one of MMA’s most unpredictable personalities, but this time, things went too far and now he’s facing the heat with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). The UFC middleweight champion was temporarily suspended this week after storming the cage at a Tuff-N-Uff event and throwing punches at a Fighter following a heated finish.
The event took place in Las Vegas, and things quickly escalated when fighter Luis Hernandez submitted Miles Hunsinger and then started celebrating, maybe a little too loudly in front of the wrong corner. Chris Curtis who was in Hunsinger’s corner had Sean Strickland in his corner crew, and within seconds, Strickland leapt over the cage wall and started swinging at Hernandez, caught in the heat of the moment. Security eventually rushed into the cage and separated the fighters after the volatile incident.
Videos from fans and attendees quickly went viral, showing Strickland landing two or three wild shots before security pulled him away. What should have been a regular amateur event turned into a viral MMA brawl, and not the good kind.
According to MMA Fighting, the NSAC handed down a temporary suspension and added Strickland’s name to the agenda for a hearing next week Wednesday. There, they’ll decide whether to issue a fine, extend the suspension, or possibly ban him from competition or cornerman duties in the state. In the aftermath, Luis Hernandez, the fighter Strickland attacked, surprisingly asked the commission not to punish him too harshly.
“I really have nothing towards them, and hope the commission does not… like they even asked me, ‘Hey, you’re gonna press charges?’ I’m like, ‘What? No,’” Hernandez said. “I would never want anything to happen to these guys because I actually like them, and I hope they watch this. I have nothing against Sean, nothing against Chris, nothing against Xtreme Couture. I like those guys. ..
“I would say we’re all adults here, and I have nothing against them, and I will say this again: I hope the commission does not take this out on them at all because, at the end of the day, we’re all professionals and this is entertainment.”
This isn’t the first time Strickland’s unpredictable nature has stolen headlines , but it might be the most serious. The NSAC has a strict history when it comes to unsanctioned violence, and the next hearing could shape what’s next for him.
