Sean Strickland saves drowning man while filming cliff jump

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 07: Sean Strickland is seen on stage during the UFC 328 press conference at Prudential Center on May 07, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Sean Strickland did a good deed… after nearly contributing to a catastrophe. The UFC middleweight champion recently posted a series of clips to his Instagram Stories, recapping a saga in which Strickland encouraged a friend to make a dangerous dive off a cliff and subsequently had to save said friend from drowning. Watch the video below (re-upload courtesy of Home of Fight). 😯🏊 Sean Strickland saved a man from drowning He didn’t believe him unitil his head went under water, then he jumped in to save him. Crazy 🤯 (via @SStricklandMMA) 🔹 pic.twitter.com/cb9PcYbum3 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 30, 2026 In the clip, Strickland’s friend is heard saying, “Why do I feel like I’m not going to make it?” as he stands at the edge of a cliff. Strickland tells him, “Don’t be a f*cking pussy” and then the friend makes the leap. Later, Strickland realizes they all might have made a huge mistake. “Oh my God, this motherf*cker’s dying,” Strickland said. Strickland then appeared to follow his friend into the water to help him, and at the same time he can be heard berating him for his struggles. In a post-mortem, Strickland told his friend, “You were drowning, I had to jump in there and push your little ass.” Strickland’s friend then did his best to defend himself, saying, “First off, I feel like I got whiplash from the water. Two, it’s freezing. I go into shock, realize I couldn’t touch the ground, tried to swim. It’s too cold, I gave up, and I couldn’t breathe. I genuinely almost died. A smirking Strickland then said, “He’s a work in progress. We’re working on him, don’t worry. He’ll be a big, strong man one day. We’ll get him there.” Strickland is currently in his second reign as UFC middleweight champion after beating the previously undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 in May. He recently tweeted that he is dealing with a shoulder issue, but is open to a rematch with Chimaev when he returns. View this post on Instagram

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Two-time middleweight champion Sean Strickland sprang into action to save a man from downing. At first, "Tarzan" thought the man was joking until he started to become submerged in the water. Strickland filmed the gentleman jumping from a cliff into the water. He quickly became distressed and ...

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Sean Strickland saved a life (after nearly causing it to get taken)