Ken Shamrock Compares Sean Strickland To Conor McGregor, Sends Warning To UFC

Not everyone is on board with the personality of newly crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland. However, Ken Shamrock seems to think it can be a good thing for the UFC.

Things used to be very different in MMA, during the time in which Shamrock was making his rise in the sport. While there was certainly some trash talking, the most controversial thing that was said was his threat to send Tito Ortiz into a living death.

Ken Shamrock Backs Sean Strickland

Fast forward to 2023, and Ken Shamrock saw Sean Strickland say some wild things en route to winning the UFC middleweight title. These antics from the newly crowned champion have rubbed some people the wrong way, but not the mixed martial arts pioneer.

Speaking in a recent interview with Inside Fighting, Shamrock noted that the UFC continues to be a home for brash and unique people, citing Conor McGregor as someone who benefited from skirted the line of acceptable behavior. Although he did leave something of a warning to the UFC, saying they may have to reign Strickland in, if he is not careful.

“To me, I think that, especially in the world of fighting, you’ve got all kinds of characters and you’ve got to be ready for them. It’s marketing. As long as people want to hate you, or they like you, just as long as they tune in. So it doesn’t matter,” Shamrock said.

“I think McGregor is the perfect example. He crossed the line a few times on things that were a little bit questionable, but it still raises the viewerships. As an owner or as a person promoting fights, you want that, but you’ve got to be able to keep it somewhat under wraps, where it’s not going too far, where you’re hurting people in the process. So, I don’t mind it. I think everybody has character. Everybody is going to be who they’re going to be, and you have to allow that to a certain point. Trying to make everybody go by the same rulesets when it comes to character is a mistake.”  

This is certainly an interesting perspective from Ken Shamrock, who has been around the sport virtually since its inception. Time will tell just how crazy Sean Strickland gets during his championship reign.

• Read also: Ken Shamrock: I Was Branded A Sellout For Swapping UFC for WWE