Video: Sean Strickland spars fan during UFC 293 open workouts, answers questions

Sean Strickland got the fans involved during his open workout at UFC 293.

Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) challenges middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) for the title in Saturday’s headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+.

During the open workouts Wednesday at Sydney Town Hall, Strickland invited a fan onto the stage for a quick sparring session. Check out the video below.

Sean Strickland just sparred with a fan at #UFC293 open workouts, as promised pic.twitter.com/4CMsbr7DWv

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 6, 2023

It’s not the first time Strickland spars with a fan. Ahead of his past main event against Abus Magomedov, Strickland ran into a fan in the street and invited him to come to his gym Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Strickland was surprised that the fan actually showed up, and shared a video of their session.

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A post shared by Sean Strickland (@strickland_mma_)

After back-to-back wins over Nassourdine Imavov and Magomedov, Strickland earned a title shot after original No. 1 contender Dricus Du Plessis couldn’t make a quick turnaround from his TKO win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July.

You can watch his full open workout session in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.