Some of Sean Strickland‘s views may seem a bit out there, but believe us when we tell you that they were way worse. After all, once upon a time, the former middleweight champion was a self-described neo-Nazi, having been influenced by his grandfather and the 1998 cult-hit film, American History X.

But ‘Tarzan’ is a changed man today, and no longer believes in the odious things he used to. So what made him reconsider? The short answer is martial arts. But how exactly? Well, the American was expelled from school in ninth grade over a hate crime. His mother, worried about her son, and looking for a positive way to let him channel his inner rage, took him to an MMA gym.

And after he started training, especially with non-white people whom he started to like, it changed him completely. It led him to re-evaluate his racist views. ‘Tarzan’ not only abandoned his neo-Nazi beliefs but started to actively despise them and became ashamed of them. How ashamed? Well, ashamed enough to grow out his hair.

“You know man, I’ll tell you what. Like you always see this picture of me going around with like f—ing long hair, Like ‘Oh that’s Sean Strickland with long hair’. You motherf—ers don’t realize for the vast majority of like from like 0 to about 14, I had a shaved head and I had some f—ed up beliefs man. I was like a borderline– like I had a lot of Nazi beliefs dude. Like I grew up as a f—ing skinhead in the inland empire around a bunch of Mexicans,” Strickland in an interview with ‘Full Violence’.

Skinheads, of course, along with their racist beliefs, are recognizable from their shaved heads. So ashamed was Strickland of having once been a skinhead that he compensated by growing out his hair to symbolically sever all association with his past.

Like I was like, I was a skinhead as skinhead come. So once I started training, like I almost looked at that as like I got a lot of shame from being that guy. Like there was a lot of shame. And then you know I grew my long hair out to try to get away from that so much,” the former middleweight champ added. And none of that may have happened without one important factor.

How did martial arts save Sean Strickland’s life?

Sean Strickland may or may not win back the UFC middleweight title from Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312 this weekend. In fact, ‘Tarzan’ may never become champion again. We’ll go further, Strickland could lose to ‘DDP’, fight ten more times and not win any of them. But that won’t matter. The verbose American has already won at life!

After all, the 185fer is a global superstar, has a loving girlfriend, and a lot of money. In addition, he has achieved the highest accolades possible in his profession. A world where Strickland didn’t find martial arts is a much darker one. ‘Tarzan’ grew up with an abusive father, had violent, sociopathic tendencies, and held the beliefs that he did.

If Strickland did not take up martial arts, he would probably still be a neo-Nazi. Moreover, he could have either gone to prison or died because of a street feud. It’s not like he had any prospects. He was already expelled from school and had the role models that he did. In short, martial arts probably saved Sean Strickland’s life along with changing his neo-Nazi beliefs. What do you think about ‘Tarzan’s views on religion?