Sean Strickland's Real Name: Sean Strickland

Quick answer: Sean Strickland is publicly known by his real name. He fights under it in the UFC and uses no separate ring name. He was born on February 27, 1991, in Anaheim, California. He won the UFC middleweight title by upsetting Israel Adesanya in 2023, lost it to Dricus du Plessis, and won it back from Khamzat Chimaev in May 2026 (UFC; Sherdog).

Real name and early life

Sherdog's fighter database lists him as Sean Strickland, born February 27, 1991, in Anaheim, California. The UFC's official athlete page gives his birthplace as California and lists his training base as Millennia MMA. No Library of Congress or Britannica entry exists for him. The official records consulted for this page document no separate birth name, so this page treats Sean Strickland as his name.

Strickland has spoken publicly about a hard childhood in Southern California. Bloody Elbow summarizes his accounts of abuse within his family and a youthful flirtation with far-right ideas before he found mixed martial arts. In his UFC questionnaire he says he started training at 14 because it was "the only sport I didn't get kicked out of." He calls it a way to work out his anger and says he turned pro at 16.

Career highlights

The UFC lists him as a professional since 2008, and his early record includes a 2012 win over UFC veteran Josh Bryant. He also lists the King of the Cage middleweight belt and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu among his titles. He made his Octagon debut on March 15, 2014, and fought at both welterweight and middleweight.

He lost to Alex Pereira by first-round knockout at UFC 276 in 2022, then rebuilt his standing. At UFC 293 in September 2023 he beat Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision in Australia to win the middleweight title, one of the sport's biggest upsets. He lost the belt to Dricus du Plessis by split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024. He then beat Paulo Costa at UFC 302 and lost a rematch to du Plessis at UFC 312 in February 2025. In 2026 he stopped Anthony Hernandez in February. At UFC 328 on May 9, 2026, he took a split decision over Khamzat Chimaev to win the title again.

Bloody Elbow describes him as one of the most outspoken and divisive fighters in the UFC.

Name notes for searchers

Strickland competes under his everyday name, and his UFC and Sherdog listings use the same form, Sean Strickland. His social media handles are @stricklandmma and @SStricklandMMA. Some unofficial profiles add a middle name, but the official fight records used here do not, so this page does not.