Sean Strickland has seldom backed off from a trash-talk. And when the man on the receiving end is Khalil Rountree Jr., ‘Tarzan’ unleashes a whole another level of trash-talk. The duo were previously gym-mates. However, Rountree and Strickland didn’t stick well with one another. And the middleweight fighter leaves no chance to diss his former gym-mate. 

This time, the former middleweight champion revealed three instances that got him closer to disliking Rountree. Strickland began, “There was this chick. Big girl, big, tall, a little thick. Little bit too thick for me, but 20 pounds out and she looked like a f***ing supermodel. Anyways, amazing, sweet girl. Khalil walks up behind her, like show her to move, and she makes like a s*xual harassment joke. And it was f***ing hilarious. I laughed, the gym laughed. And then Khalil f***ing snaps on her. And I’m like, like ‘Dude, this is like a, it’s like a sweet girl. Like, she was f***ing joking. Calm down.’” 

Strickland didn’t stop at one and went on to narrate another instance. Once again, this happened in their gym when Strickland was speaking about getting “the best motherf***er try to take his head, take his spot.” He playfully pointed his finger at Rountree and said, “If I see you guys go an f*** Rountree. Then I know you’re being a bunch of p***es.” Needless to say, ‘The War Horse’ didn’t like the comment and he rushed out of the room. He even got a little emotional, which of course, Strickland didn’t like.

Nevertheless, ‘Tarzan’ admitted that he might have been in the wrong as he narrated the third instance. After all, he made a joke about the light heavyweight fighter’s ex-girlfriend. Strickland said, “I joke, ‘Khalil I hit on her too, and you had to be the better man.’ It was like me and your boys, you know. Like camaraderie. And he goes to the UFC and f***ing complains.” The former MW champ was pretty upset with how Rountree reacted. He went on to say, “If you met him, you would hate him. You need to trust me on this. He sucks!”

Of course, the heat between the duo started to light up way before Rountree’s bout against the light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, was scheduled. This has been going on for about 2 years now!

All the heat that Sean Strickland and Khalil Rountree Jr. threw at each other

Back in 2022, Strickland mocked Rountree for the very first time in public. After he finished Karl Roberson in the second round of their fight, ‘The War Horse’ revealed his struggles with s**cidal thoughts and bad mental health. While the fighting community felt the light heavyweight’s pain, Strickland wasn’t one to be soft about it. ‘Tarzan’ mocked Rountree and called him a person with “special needs” and “PC beta male”. 

Rountree lashed back at Sean Strickland, and asked him to “learn to be a better person.” But when a reporter asked about his beef with the Californian during a press conference in 2023, Rountree dismissed the question and denied knowing ‘Tarzan’. He said,  “I don’t even who that is, dude. You guys keep asking me about this name, I don’t even know this person.” This urged Strickland to hop on social media and write, “When your level 100 @choicecenter tells you not to talk, you listen…” It was indeed intended to target Rountree as ‘Tarzan’ branded him as a “Cult Ambassador.” 

Now, the Californian fighter has joined hands with ‘Poatan’ and trains together with the LHW champion, for his fight against Rountree at UFC 307. Needless to say, Strickland doesn’t let his beef slide away easily. 

What are your thoughts on Sean Strickland’s comments about his former gym-mate? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.