WARNING: The following article, and the accompanying video, contain strong language. Discretion is advised. 

TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) –– The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC’s) middleweight champion Sean Strickland has gone viral this week for tearing to pieces members of the Canadian media in a profanity-laced, anti-woke rant during a press conference ahead of his title defense fight at UFC 297 taking place this Saturday in Toronto. 

The unfiltered tirade by the American middleweight champion Strickland occurred on Wednesday at a press conference in Toronto, and saw Strickland blast gender ideology, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the treatment of truckers during the 2022 Freedom Convoy.

Canadian Press reporter Neil Davidson, who just after introducing himself to Strickland was interrupted by the fighter, had his line of questioning derailed when the fighter took the opportunity to go on a rant against liberal politics. 

“The Canadian Press, man, were you uh, a COVID bank account stealer too, were you on board with that,” said Strickland to Davidson, who replied, “no.”  

Strickland then said, “Are you left wing or right wing? Were you a Trudeau [supporter]?”  

Strickland then accused Davidson of being one of the “commies” from the press, and said, “we got to know where this man stands,” gesturing to the other members of the press.

Davidson did not comment, which caused Strickland to say he was “going to give [his] bank account to Trudeau,” referring to the unprecedented freezing of Freedom Convoy protesters bank accounts by the Trudeau government during the popular anti-mandate movement. 

Strickland was then asked questions by Canadian reporter Alexander K Lee.

Before the reporter even got off a question, Strickland asked if he was “part of the [expletive] opposition.” After this, Strickland then asked the reporter if he voted for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and if he was a “gay man,” to which the reporter declined to say, but said he was an “ally” of the LGBT community.

Lee eventually asked, “We’ve got a pretty supported gay and lesbian community in [Toronto], I did want to ask you something you wrote a couple of years ago,” referring to a post in 2021 on social media in which Strickland said he would think he “failed as a man” if he were to have a “gay son.”

Cutting off the reporter, the UFC fighter then asked Lee if he would be okay if he had a gay son, to which Lee said “[I’d have] no problem with it.” 

This caused Strickland to go into a long, profanity-laced anti-woke rant that called out Trudeau and liberal politics more generally.  

“You’re a weak [expletive] man,” said Strickland, adding, “You’re part of the [expletive] problem.” 

“You elected Justin Trudeau. When he seized the bank accounts. You’re just [expletive] pathetic, and the fact that you have no [expletive] backbone as he shut down your [expletive] country and seized bank accounts.” 

Not done, Strickland then said, “You ask me some stupid [expletive] like that. Go [expletive] yourself. Move the [expletive] on, man. You [expletive] coward.” 

Lee then told Strickland that he was not satisfied with his answer, and then asked him about Bud Light, which recently became a UFC sponsor despite its controversial partnership with gender-confused social media star Dylan Mulvaney.

“Here’s the thing about Bud Light… Ten years ago, to be trans was a mental illness. Now, all of a sudden, people like you have [expletive] weaseled your way into the world. You are an infection. You are the definition of weakness,” said Strickland.  

“Everything that is wrong with the world is because of [expletive] you. And the best thing is, the world’s not buying it. The world’s not buying your [expletive] bull**** that you’re [expletive] pedaling.”  

Strickland then added that the “world is not saying,” as left-wing activists claim, that “chicks have [male genitals]. The world’s not saying that. The world’s saying ‘no, there are two genders. I don’t want my kids being taught about who they could [expletive] in school, I don’t want my kids being taught about their sexual preference.

“This guy is the [expletive] enemy. You want to look at the [expletive] enemy to our world? It’s that [expletive] right there, asking these stupid [expletive] questions.” 

Realizing he had just gone on a rant, Strickland asked, “Lance, did I, Strickland, cross any lines?” to which he got a reply, “a little.” 

“What the [expletive]? I didn’t say the F word! You just brought this [expletive] guy in here to p*** me off!” he said, which ended the video.   

Parts of the interview were posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Strickland himself, and immediately saw some Canadians praising the fighter for his comments, while others condemned the statements as “homophobic” and “transphobic.”

Strickland doubles down, says he cares for Canadians’ ‘freedoms’  

After the viral controversy, in another press conference, Strickland, who was now wearing a “Make Canada Great Again” shirt, doubled down on his disdain for Trudeau, telling a crowd of fans, “I care about you being free.”  

“I am not chasing the Chinese checkmark of Nike. I don’t give a [expletive] about that. I care about you guys. I care about you guys being free. I care about you guys having freedom of speech,” said Strickland.  

Strickland’s upcoming fight with South African MMA fighter Dricus du Plessis, according to the head of the UFC Dana White, is sold out.  

White, back in 2021, made clear he would not mandate his fighters take the COVID shot as a condition to being allowed to compete in the sport.  

Strickland is no stranger to controversy, and in the past has made multiple remarks that many perceived to be offensive. 

As for the Trudeau government, since taking power in 2015, it has been fully on board with the LGBT agenda. Recently, it pledged $100 million in funding for LGBT activist groups, with much of the money focused on youth and on-the-ground initiatives. 

In 2017, the Senate passed a transgender rights bill that adds “gender expression” and “gender identity” to Canada’s Human Rights Code and to the Criminal Code’s hate crime section. 

Around the same time, federal public servants were forced to take a mandatory feminist “gender equality” course or face unspecified consequences.