"Bro he was f***ing beautiful" - Footage of young Sean Strickland weighing in with long flowy hair has fans wondering what happened

Old footage of Sean Strickland looking chiseled and attractive at weigh-ins recently left fans wondering what caused the transformation. Strickland is not particularly a fighter that pays too much attention to style and fashion. However, his younger self with long flowy hair and a pleasant smile definitely changed the perception of MMA fans on Instagram.

Back in 2015, Sean Strickland fought Santiago Ponzinibbio upon his return to the welterweight division. This was the time when Strickland was a relatively unknown entity and he put his perfect 15-0 record on the line against the Argentinian. The weigh-in video of this fight recently went viral on Instagram when @nico23nb posted it on their account.

A nearly unrecognizable Sean Strickland, who was 25 years old at the time, quickly grabbed netizens’ attention for the stark contrast in his appearance. You can watch the video below, courtesy of @nico23nb’s Instagram account:

MMA fans sounded off their opinions on Sean Strickland’s transformation in the comments section and here are some of the hilarious reactions from the web:

@interessantwieneraufasertapete wrote:

“He would bully the f**k out of his younger self now”

@siddhant_shetty309 found similarities between Walter Jr, the character played by RJ Mitte in the series ‘Breaking Bad’, and Sean Strickland. He commented:

“If Walt jnr got ripped”

@txkita could not help but admire Strickland's chiselled features in his younger days and stated:

“What happened to bro he was f***ing beautiful”

@noah0wen compared Strickland’s transformation with alcohol addicts and joked:

“Alcohol addicts before and after”

Arthur5thave attributed Strickland’s transformation to the wear and tear of combat sports and commented:

“Some people are asking what happened, well a few years and some wars will do it to you quick”

@mac_lovin676 humored that Strickland’s handsome appearance did a good job of hiding his outspoken, brash, and controversial personality:

“When he had to hide his true self lol”

@native_brawler stated:

“Bro was a Disney prince”

@the_pilot_7274 opined that Strickland was handsome enough for women to ignore the wild things he tends to say:

“Bro could have fangirls even with the s**t that comes out of his mouth”

@supergringodftc drew similarities between Strickland and Canadian prime minister:

“That’s Justin Trudeau”

@dinodresantacroce said about Strickland’s transformation:

“Y’all try to spar at 50-100% almost everyday for a couple years… and see how ur face changes”

Sean Strickland could be the next challenger for Israel Adesanya’s middleweight title

Following his win over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, South Africa’s own Dricus Du Plessis had nearly cemented his position as the next challenger to Israel Adesanya’s middleweight title. The pair were expected to get locked inside the UFC octagon at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia in September.

However, Du Plessis has reportedly pulled out of the fight due to a foot injury. Adesanya took to social media and launched a scathing attack on Du Plessis. He then went on to call out Sean Strickland for a fight.

Currently ranked sixth, Strickland is coming off a spectacular TKO win over Abus Magomedov. He called for a title shot upon defeating Magomedov but Du Plessis’s TKO win over Robert Whittaker and the subsequent face-off with ‘The Last Stylebender’ had shelved Strickland’s title aspirations, albeit temporarily.

With Dricus Du Plessis now out of the way, it is likely that Sean Strickland will get his much-awaited title shot.