Sean Strickland felt ‘excitement’, had ‘dopamine rush’ seeing Charlie Kirk killing video, then offers condolence; here’s all about the former UFC champion

Sean Strickland released a reflective Instagram post stating how America has become desensitized, in an offbeat condolence to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, leading Conservative voice, and popular Trump ally was shot dead on September 10, 2025 at a Utah Valley University debate he was hosting, wherein the assault happened after a discussion on ‘transgender shooters’ was ongoing, shortly after which Kirk got assassinated by a sniper file shooting.

Stating his initial reaction was ‘excitement’, and a dopamine rush, Strickland tried to send a message to the fans that he saw such politicisation of killings as right and left as ways of increasing divisiveness within America.

He starts the video, claiming this is going to be a rant, and then states, “Im on Twitter, and somebody says hey did u hear Charlie Kirk got shot, and my gut reaction was no i f****** didn’t but I'm excited like I felt this little dopamine rush in me.”

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A post shared by Sean Strickland (@stricklandmma)

Strickland, himself, popular to be outspoken, sometimes ‘conservative’ ,and raunchy, made the post in a reflective tribute to not necessarily the commentator, but an opinionated version of what needs to be considered as right or wrong.

Who is Sean Strickland, the controversial MMA trash-talker and former Middleweight champ?

Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional since 2008, he is a former Middleweight Champion of the King of the Cage. As of August 19, 2025, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Describing the video as ‘real bad’ to watch, Strickland tries to bring down the steam of the issue by calling it more than a heated statement but a rhetoric which would only separate the Americans, and hinting at something much more dangerous, like the removal of God from America, consumerism, where as he states, “We want things and stuff.” “Like, when did we as a society get so desensitized?” he exclaims.

He claimed, as he started to watch the video, questions like, "Was the shooter black, was he a Liberal?” popped up in his mind and then he went on to think , “How did we become such sociopaths, and become detached from human beings. When people walk down the streets, I don’t even see people, I see potential threats and problems.”