Strickland drops Buckley in leaked sparring footage amid feud

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has publicly turned on President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance after the Republican Party's devastating losses in the midterm elections.

Strickland, 35, was once among Trump's most vocal supporters in combat sports.

He has now accused the administration of lying.

"You lost because you and Trump lied about everything," Strickland wrote in a reply to Vance's post on X.

Vance had posted a lengthy explanation for the GOP's poor showing in the midterms.

In that post, which has already amassed nearly 60 million views, Vance concluded that the party needed to resolve four factors: ending the war, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting America first, and changing the nation's relationship with Israel.

Strickland's reply cut through that analysis with a blunt accusation of dishonesty.

The midterm results saw several historic Republican strongholds flip.

Texas and Kansas, long considered safe Republican territory, both swung to Democrats.

Those losses marked a major blow to the Trump-Vance administration.

Strickland's transformation from a staunch MAGA supporter into an outspoken critic has been staggering.

Earlier this year, he claimed he had been "banned" from the UFC White House event.

That event was a one-off spectacle celebrating Trump's relationship with the UFC.

Strickland said the ban came due to "anti-Israel" comments he had made online.

After that snub, he took aim at the Trump administration directly.

Now, following the midterms, he has gone further than ever before.

His reply to Vance is the clearest break yet from the political camp he once championed.

Strickland has never been one to shy away from confrontation or controversy.

He has a long history of outspoken comments on politics, race, and social issues.

This week's midterm results have only further ignited his fire over what he sees as wrong with the current leaders of the United States.

The UFC middleweight champion was once a man who pledged campaign cash to Trump from inside the octagon.

Now he has completely distanced himself from the former property tycoon.

This public break comes amid another feud for Strickland.

He is also engaged in a heated online exchange with welterweight Joaquin Buckley.

That feud began over Strickland's use of a racial slur at a Brand Risk event in May.

Buckley confronted Strickland in person, and the two shared a tense but civil exchange.

Buckley posted footage of that interaction online.

Strickland responded by posting sparring footage of himself dropping Buckley with a punch.

The caption read simply: "Sit down Buckley."

Buckley replied in the comments: "Love it. #NowDoItAgain."

The feud escalated further from there.

But the political turn is a separate, and perhaps more significant, development.

Strickland's shift away from Trump represents a notable change in the UFC's political landscape.

The promotion has long been closely associated with Trump.

Trump appeared at UFC events during his presidency and after.

Many fighters openly support him.

Strickland was once one of the most visible of those supporters.

Now he is one of the most visible critics.

The question going forward is whether this break is permanent.

Strickland has not indicated any intention to return to supporting Trump.

His reply to Vance suggests a deep and personal sense of betrayal.

He did not offer a path to reconciliation.

He simply stated that the administration lost because it lied.

That accusation carries weight coming from a former ally.

It also raises questions about how the UFC will handle Strickland's political stance going forward.

The promotion has not commented on his remarks.

But Strickland remains the middleweight champion, a position that gives him a major platform.

He has used that platform before to make controversial statements.

This time, his target is the sitting president and vice president.

That is a level of political confrontation rarely seen from active UFC champions.

The midterm results have clearly shaken the political landscape.

Strickland's response shows that the shake-up extends into the world of combat sports.

His fans are divided.

Some praised him for speaking out.

Others accused him of betraying the movement he once championed.

Strickland has not responded to those critics directly.

He has not posted any follow-up to his reply to Vance.

But his single sentence has dominated the conversation.

It has been shared and quoted across social media platforms.

It has drawn attention from political commentators as well as sports media.

This is not the first time Strickland has made headlines for political statements.

But it is the first time he has directly attacked Trump and Vance by name with such a specific accusation.

The timing is significant.

The midterm elections were held on November 3, 2026.

Strickland posted his reply on November 4, 2026.

That is the day after the results became clear.

He did not wait to weigh in.