2023 closed out on an extremely personal note in the MMA world.

I’ll be the first to admit that last year was far and away one that I’m beyond ready to move on from for a variety of reasons. Hopefully, one of those can be the clouds of negativity brought into the MMA sphere, specifically with the UFC’s headliner bouts, as cascaded into the ether at the final pre-fight press conferences of the calendar. From Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington to Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis, and Ian Machado Garry vs. ... the whole internet, to be honest ... There was no shortage of discomfort and vitriol to digest by following this sport we know and love so much.

Ultimately, positivity can’t come without negativity, the yin and the yang, and MMA is a form of “art,” after all.

How much is too much? That appears to be the question now, at least for former two-division champion and top bantamweight contender Henry Cejudo, who sees some hypocrisy in Strickland’s situation with his upcoming opponent Du Plessis at UFC 297 in two weeks.

“I wouldn’t share things that bug you if you can’t be an advocate for it,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “Especially to the world. But you’re talking about peoples’ wives and calling people f***, and things of that nature. How do you not expect somebody else to come at you?”

Strickland and Du Plessis’ verbal sparring match at the UFC’s 2024 seasonal press conference took a turn when the South African star told the middleweight champion Strickland he’d beat him worse than his father did as a child. Strickland has revealed several dark happenings about his rough upbringing since rising to fame and his status as the best in the division, admitting recently that comments like Du Plessis’ were bothersome and “off limits.”

The problem with Strickland’s case specifically, which Du Plessis countered after they had their crowd brawl at UFC 296, is that he’s generally one of the first to verbally attack a fighter on a personal level. One of which being the aforementioned Garry and his wife Layla Anna-Lee after concerns arose around the couple’s marriage when an old book authored by Anna-Lee resurfaced online.

Cejudo coined himself the “King of Cringe” when he first became a UFC champion in August 2018 and entirely shifted his persona to a more vocal, but self-aware, version of himself. Therefore, this led to more trash talk than he’d ever done before, including some gender-specific jabs at opponents — female fighters included — and intelligence-related insults. However, with things as personal as what Strickland is concerned about, the Olympic gold medalist in wrestling advises silence.

“I hope you can come to the consensus to be able to accept the fact that you’re in this game, bro,” Cejudo said to Strickland. “Learn how to play, don’t be [mocks crying]. You can’t, man.

“It’s the same with [Alexander] Volkanovski. Volkanovski is showing his cards that he goes through anxiety if he doesn’t fight. Like, bro, like what the f***. Keep some of that s*** to yourself. The world doesn’t need to know.”

Before Cejudo gets back in action for a showdown with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 next month, Strickland and Du Plessis get to settle their differences. The title tilt will be Strickland’s first defense as UFC champion and typically, emotions ahead of a performance haven’t played any factor in his performances.

The admittance of the issue with Du Plessis’ overstepping adds an extra wrinkle to the matchup for Strickland. It just depends on whether or not it will make a good or bad difference.

“If he goes into that fight emotional ... you know what happens when you fight somebody emotional?” Cejudo asked. “You don’t stick to the gameplan, you wanna hurt ‘em, and because you want to hurt ‘em, you’re gonna expose yourself. You’re gonna be throwing things you would never throw before. You’re gonna be throwing a lot of power, and you know what happens when you throw a lot of power? You’re gonna get burned.

“It could also motivate a guy like Sean Strickland. I mean, how many times have we all been wrong? Sean Strickland is made different.”

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VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

Finishes you forgot in 2023.

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LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses what will headline UFC 300.

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MORNING MUSIC

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Understandable frustration.

Champ gear.

Interesting.

Canada time.

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Good guy moment.

Something to grind.

They truly don’t even try anymore.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

To speak from a personal level, especially after this past year, there couldn’t be a stronger disagreement with Cejudo regarding silence around struggles. To try and head into the weekend on a lighter note though (sorry, guys...), a round of applause to Bryce Mitchell for the wholesomeness with Kelleher.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the UFC break’s final weekend before we’re back to rolling! Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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