Former UFC champion Sean Strickland has confessed he felt a 'dopamine spike' upon hearing about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, admitting he was 'excited' to see footage of the killing. Strickland, who held the UFC middleweight title from September 2023 to January 2024, shared his reaction in an Instagram story video.
Strickland described his initial response to news of Kirk's death, saying: 'My gut reaction was like: No, I f***ing didn’t, but I’m excited. I felt this little dopamine spike in me, where I’m like: Dude, I want to see the video.' After viewing the footage, he noted: 'Real bad, real bad, but I’m still kind of excited from it.'
The 34-year-old fighter then reflected on his desensitisation to violence, questioning: 'How the f*** did I become such a sociopath? How am I so detached from human beings? When people walk down the street, I don’t even see people; I just see potential threats and problems.'
Strickland linked his reaction to broader societal issues, citing recent violent events such as the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on a subway. He lamented: 'We are so desensitised and we’re such sociopaths, it’s kinda sad.' The American also accused the US of being overcome by consumerism, saying: 'Slowly they just manipulated us to be sociopathic consumers.'
