Sean Strickland has finally reclaimed the UFC middleweight title after losing it more than two years ago. The California native went the full 25 minutes with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in Newark and took the belt back by split decision in a razor-thin result that Chimaev acknowledged gracefully, wrapping the belt around Strickland’s waist himself.

What followed in Sean Strickland‘s Octagon interview was equally unexpected. He took the time to bury the hatchet with his bitter rival and issue a genuine apology, directed specifically at Muslim fans, especially those from Chechnya.

“I just want to apologize to my American fans, to my Muslim fans, and to my Christian fans,” Strickland said. “I went too f—ing hard, and I’ll admit it. I respect all of you guys. Chechnya has great fighters, and they are savage… he’s a f—ing savage. I shall be a better f—ing example. But I try to sell these fights to you f—ers. I appreciate you.”

The apology carried weight given what preceded it. In the lead-up to UFC 328, Strickland had heavily targeted Chimaev’s ties to Chechen leadership, told him to go back to his “f—ing country,” and at media day accused the UFC of “ruining the sport” by signing Eastern European Muslim fighters. He specifically singled out middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov by name and claimed the promotion was making the sport “unwatchable” by promoting them.

After spending much of the buildup criticizing Muslim and non-US fighters, Strickland appeared to recognize that he had crossed the line. He doubled down on the apology in the same interview.

“That motherf—er would not go back. I’m hitting him with everything, and he just keeps coming forward, crazy,” he added. “He may have broken my nose. But again, I wanna tell you guys, my fans, I f—ing love you guys. I would not be where I am today without you guys.

“My Christian fans, my Muslim fans, my White fans, my Black fans, my Brown fans, I f—ing love you guys. We are all Americans, and this is the f—ing dream. Thank you.”

Now, as Sean Strickland begins his second reign as a UFC champion, the apology will likely go far with MMA fans. However, one of the sport’s most prominent Muslim fighters offered a perspective on Strickland that adds context to the apology.

Islam Makhachev talks about Sean Strickland’s on-camera persona

For many fans, Sean Strickland’s persona has become the identity they associate him with—brash, outspoken, insensitive, and an F-bomb dropping machine. However, Islam Makhachev appears to have had a different experience with Strickland, describing the middleweight champion as surprisingly normal in person, which led him to believe that the cameras are what change him.

“He’s an interesting fellow,” Makhachev said in a Red Corner MMA interview. “I met him in person, and we talked. It was three years ago at the UFC PI. He’s a peculiar person. We talked about our culture, the traditions of Dagestan, and he was like, ‘Oh, I like it.’ We discussed some family values, he asked me about mine, and he went, ‘I want my family to be like that.’

“I like the fact that you keep it private. I want my family to be apart from the fight business. So we talked about it. But they all act normal when you talk in person, yet when the camera starts rolling, and the pressure is building up, they can’t hold themselves back.”

Makhachev suggested that fighters like Sean Strickland and Colby Covington often lean into animated personas to help sell their fights. Because of that, the welterweight was still able to have a genuine conversation with Strickland despite being aware of the Nevada native’s comments about the religion he follows.

He had predicted Strickland would perform well against Chimaev, and the result bore that out, with Strickland becoming the first man to defeat Chimaev in MMA.

Whether the post-fight apology shifts how Muslim fans perceive Sean Strickland remains to be seen. But the combination of the apology and Makhachev’s characterization of him as a fundamentally different person off-camera gives it more credibility than a purely tactical move would.

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