What Religion Does Controversial UFC Star Sean Strickland Follow?

They don’t make ’em like Sean Strickland anymore. The former UFC middleweight champ is the definition of having no filter. Never afraid to speak his mind, no matter how politically incorrect, controversial, or wild his views are, ‘Tarzan’ is one of a kind, even in the UFC.

That is one of the main reasons the American 185fer is so popular in the UFC world. While he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, Strickland’s hilarious rants and unapologetic attitude have won him a dedicated fan base. And his sense of humor and eclectic views are nowhere more apparent than in his views on religion.

What is Sean Strickland’s religion?

Sean Strickland is a self-described atheist. “What I always say is I’m not a religious man. I don’t believe in God. I believe we’re all in just meat suits,” ‘Tarzan’ told Nina Marie Daniele in an interview. But that apparently wasn’t always the case.

When he was a child, Strickland did believe in the supernatural. And if he still believed in the divine, ‘Tarzan’ knows who he would have chosen- the Devil. Why? Well, according to Strickland, the horned guy is the one he owes all his success to.

“But growing up, okay, let’s just say that like if I were to believe in God, like if God and the devil were real, I will tell you that the only one who’s ever been there for me has been the devil… Like when I was a kid and I was going through [stuff] like he was always there [saying] ‘Hey, it’s okay just be angry. Go hit that guy.’ As I got older, ‘Hey just be angry go hit that guy,'” the former champion added.

Well, it is hard to disagree with the American. After all, it is his proclivity for violence that has brought him all the money, success, and fame he enjoys today. Of course, ‘Tarzan’ is joking here, since he doesn’t actually believe in the existence of either God or the Devil, but it does say something about the kind of rage and anger issues Strickland has. But then again, he has good reasons to have these issues, and if it weren’t for his mother, he would have gone down a much darker path.

Martial arts changed Sean Strickland’s neo-Nazi views

Sean Strickland grew up with an abusive father. ‘Tarzan’s father used to physically and mentally abuse him and his mother. As he got older, Strickland got into a few physical altercations with his father to protect his mother, but the abuse didn’t stop. One day, when ‘Tarzan’ was eighteen, he and his mother moved out of his father’s home following another huge fight.

The main male role model in his life was his grandfather, who held neo-Nazi beliefs. Unsurprisingly, these views influenced ‘Tarzan’, who became a neo-Nazi himself. In fact, he was kicked out of school in ninth grade over a hate crime incident. Thankfully, ‘Tarzan’s mother was there for him and set him on the path to greatness.

After her son was expelled from school, Mrs. Strickland, worried about his son, signed up Sean at an MMA gym so that he would have a healthy way of venting his rage and violent tendencies. And this would be the most important moment of Strickland’s life. Not only did it start him on a journey to becoming a UFC champ, but also forced him to re-evaluate his neo-Nazi beliefs since he trained with a lot of non-white people, whom he became quite fond of.

“The moment I started training I was like, ‘f–k man, I don’t hate anybody. Everyone’s cool. Then a lot of people who helped me out in my life, they weren’t white,” Strickland recalled in an interview on ‘The MMA Hour’. What do you think about Sean Strickland’s views on religion?