Sean Strickland fires back at Joaquin Buckley, says his brain needs a CTE break

Following their tense confrontation over racial slurs, Sean Strickland ridiculed Joaquin Buckley's recent knockout loss, claiming he felt bad watching Buckley's decline and suggesting his brain needed a break.

The verbal war between the two Ultimate Fighting Championship competitors reached a boiling point over the weekend.

Strickland did not mince words after Buckley confronted him face-to-face regarding his past language.

The former UFC middleweight champion chose to fire back publicly on multiple fronts.

He released old gym footage to embarrass the welterweight contender.

He then launched a cutting personal attack on Buckley's recent performances inside the Octagon.

"I will say this with all sincerity, I feel bad watching the fall of Buckley," Strickland stated.

The 35-year-old fighter did not stop there.

"Bro, I think your brain needs a little CTE break," Strickland added.

To cap off his mockery, Strickland offered to teach Buckley how to fight if he moved to Las Vegas.

A HEATED FACE-TO-FACE AMBUSH

The dispute began when Buckley approached Strickland in person at a recent promotional event.

Buckley did not arrive alone for the conversation.

An associate joined the welterweight fighter to address Strickland directly on camera.

The confrontation was captured on video and quickly uploaded to social media.

Buckley sought an explanation for remarks Strickland had made several months earlier.

Back in May, Strickland sparked outrage during an appearance at a Brand Risk event.

The outspoken fighter casually repeated a racial slur on the broadcast.

"Tap n—a, I like that," Strickland had said during the live stream.

The slur drew substantial backlash from fight fans and fellow athletes at the time.

Buckley decided to challenge Strickland about the incident months later.

"I see what you trying to do," Buckley told Strickland in the recorded footage.

Buckley's associate also pressed the middleweight contender over his vocabulary.

"Brother, don't call people the N-word," the associate said.

"It's offensive, G," the associate told Strickland.

"It's disrespectful, bro," he continued.

Strickland offered no remorse during the impromptu confrontation.

"If anybody tells me not to do anything, I am gonna do it," Strickland fired back.

The atmosphere remained tense as the group debated back and forth.

Despite the hostility, the exchange did not turn physical.

Both sides eventually parted ways without throwing punches.

LEAKED SPARRING FOOTAGE ESCALATES FEUD

The ceasefire did not last once the cameras stopped rolling.

Buckley posted the confrontation video to his social media channels for the public to see.

He included a caption explaining his motive for challenging Strickland.

"We saw Strickland and I approached him and I let him know I know what he doing," Buckley wrote.

He stressed that public athletes must remain responsible for their public speech.

"These platforms you got to be careful what you say at all time," Buckley added.

Buckley also claimed that people usually avoid him when he attempts to address these issues directly.

He insisted that he brings the exact same attitude to every person involved.

The footage quickly made the rounds across combat sports media.

Strickland did not take kindly to being ambushed and filmed.

As one of the most volatile personalities on the UFC roster, Strickland opted to strike back hard.

He pulled old training footage out of the gym archives.

The two fighters had previously shared the mats as training partners.

In mixed martial arts culture, releasing private sparring footage is widely considered a major taboo.

Fighters usually treat gym sparring sessions as strictly confidential.

Strickland broke that unwritten rule by publishing a knockdown video of Buckley.

The brief clip captured Strickland landing a clean counter punch.

Buckley rushed toward him and immediately crashed to the canvas upon impact.

Strickland removed any doubt about the identity of the fallen fighter in his caption.

"Sit down Buckley," Strickland wrote alongside the video.

Buckley quickly responded directly in the comments section.

"Love it. #NowDoItAgain," Buckley replied.

CAREER SKID FUELS THE ATTACK

Strickland used the momentum of the sparring clip to target Buckley's recent career struggles.

Buckley entered this dispute following a difficult setback inside the Octagon.

More than two weeks earlier, Buckley competed at UFC Edmonton.

That welterweight bout ended in a devastating knockout defeat against Mike Malott.

The stoppage loss halted Buckley's climb in the divisional rankings.

Strickland seized on that knockout to deliver his CTE critique.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy remains one of the most sensitive topics in professional combat sports.

The neurodegenerative disease is linked to repeated concussions and head trauma.

Athletes in mixed martial arts absorb significant head strikes throughout their careers and training camps.

Because brain health is a serious reality for all combat athletes, referencing brain trauma is rarely taken lightly.

Strickland, however, showed no hesitation in using head trauma as verbal ammunition.

By suggesting Buckley needed time away to recover his brain health, Strickland hit a deeply personal nerve.

His patronizing offer to train Buckley in Las Vegas only added insult to injury.

A TWO-FRONT BATTLE WITH DUSTIN POIRIER

Strickland was not the only prominent UFC star Buckley decided to target.

Buckley opened a separate verbal war against former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.

That feud also originated from accusations involving the use of a racial slur.

Buckley initially turned his attention toward Poirier following a summer legal incident.

Poirier was arrested in June on suspicion of public intoxication at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The lightweight star later issued a public apology for his actions during that arrest.

Buckley publicly questioned the sincerity of Poirier's apology.

He alleged that Poirier had used a racial slur during the airport encounter.

Buckley repeatedly challenged Poirier to discuss the matter face-to-face.

Poirier responded dismissively to Buckley's public callouts.

"Tryna get some views? Shut up or kill me!"

Poirier wrote on Wednesday.

Poirier accused Buckley of using the controversy solely to chase social media clout.

Buckley fired back with an extensive video breaking down Poirier's reaction.

"I like this comment right here," Buckley said in his video response.