UFC champion Strickland takes aim at Edmonton's downtown — and its mayor
By YEGWAVE
Sean Strickland came to Edmonton for a fight card. He ended up picking a different kind of fight — with City Hall.
The two-time UFC middleweight champion has spent fight week touring the Alberta capital ahead of UFC Fight Night at Rogers Place on Saturday, and his running commentary on the city's downtown core has grown sharper by the day. On Thursday, he turned his attention directly to Mayor Andrew Knack, writing on X: "Edmonton. We love our drug addicts and hate our taxpayers... They should make the mayor live there for their term."
From defending to decrying
Strickland's Edmonton saga began on a conciliatory note. After arriving Tuesday, he pushed back on critics of the city, posting that "the guys saying Edmonton is ghetto have clearly never been to a major US city."
That changed Wednesday morning after a walk through the downtown core.
"Well, update on Edmonton... Left downtown, and yep this place is a trash can. Zombies everywhere," he wrote. "Its not American I might have to kill a crack head bad but its definitely a open drug market with zero police."
Confrontation on camera
On Thursday, Strickland's street-level documentation took a tense turn when a woman confronted him for filming people without permission, warning him his actions could get him hurt. Video of the exchange circulated widely online.
Strickland, who said he was surprised by the open drug use he witnessed, told the woman he hoped she gets clean.
Why he's here
Strickland isn't fighting Saturday — he's in town cornering a fighter on the card. The main event sees Canada's Mike Malott face Joaquin Buckley in a five-round welterweight bout, with the main card airing at 8 p.m. ET.
The 35-year-old has never shied away from speaking his mind, and his Edmonton commentary has drawn national attention. He also expressed interest in attending a rally at the Alberta Legislature on Saturday.
Knack, Edmonton's 37th mayor, took office on October 29, 2025. His office had not publicly responded to Strickland's comments at publication time.
