‘I Love The Misery’

Strickland is keeping his head held high, and he urges those going through tough times to keep their heads up as well.

Sean Strickland has released a statement to fans hours after losing his UFC 312 title fight against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.

Du Plessis was just too active and did too much damage for Strickland to keep up across five rounds. Halfway through the fourth round “Stillknocks” hit “Tarzan” with a big punch that shattered his nose, and it’s a miracle that Strickland managed to carry on until the end of the 25 minute fight (highlights here).

In a new video posted to his socials, Strickland said he was keeping his head held high and urged his fans having trouble to draw inspiration from his defeat.

“Hey, what up guys? We’ve been here once or twice,” Strickland said. “I’m so grateful for your guys’ support, man. You you guys are so awesome. Win or lose, you guys always ride, and I appreciate you. Dricus: f—ing hats off, man. Hell of a fight. Broke my nose in like six places. Silver lining is [when] your nose is so broken, it’s really easy to reset. So that was a new experience.”

“But I’ll be quick. I get so many message from fans, friends, family. Like, hold your head up. It’s okay. I’m good, dude. Like, losing sucks, but we all lose in life. And I talk to so many people, whether they lose their job, their girlfriend breaks up with them, and they just find themselves in this hole. But me, I love the misery. I love the suffering. Because when you’re miserable, when you’re in pain, when you’re suffering? The moment that’s gone — and it will end, it will end and there will be a new day, a better day — life’s good!”

“So I’m grateful,” Strickland concluded. “And being grateful kinda keeps me keeps my head up. And for you guys going through it, look at me. Broke my nose in front of millions of people. F—ing sucks. Lost the fight. And I still gotta wake up tomorrow, hold my head up, and be like, ‘Hey, man. It’s a new day.’ Gotta sack up and be a man. So for you guys going through it, look at me. And I hope that your f—ing day gets better.”

This second defeat to Du Plessis pushes Strickland out of the contender’s circle at middleweight, and it’s a real question as to whether he’ll be able to force his way back in. Despite that career setback, Sean is taking the loss with more poise and class than many fighters on the roster, proving once again that he’s always capable of shocking the world with his unpredictable behavior.

This news first appeared on MMA Mania. Read the original article.