Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby is a big UFC fan and someone who finds new ways to test himself when he’s not playing in the NFL.
During his most recent offseason, Crosby decided to share some rounds with UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who is known for his knocking out sparring partners.
“Every year I try and find new things in the offseason to get better at,” Crosby said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show.
“Sean Strickland, he’s the [UFC] middleweight champ now, we did three rounds of sparring and we beat the s*** out of each other, just testing myself in different ways."
The two-time NFL Pro Bowler claims a camera crew was there to capture him sparring a man he has had a personal relationship with for several years.
“Me and Strickland have been boys for a long time,” Crosby explained.
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“When he first got into the UFC, I was a fan. I’d seen him fight a few times, he’s in the Octagon talking s*** while he’s fighting and I’m like, ‘Who is this dude?’
"We had a relationship for years, and all of a sudden, he keeps winning, winning, winning, and then now he’s fighting Izzy [Israel Adesanya] for the title.
“NFL Films calls, and they say, ‘Hey, we want to get a behind the scenes of how you train, do you have anyone you can spar with?’
“I’m like, ‘Well, I know Sean Strickland and he’s my buddy, but he’s like notorious for being a horrible sparring partner because he goes in there and actually tries to knock people out.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, bet, I’ll show up.’”
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Crosby accepts he didn’t get the better of Strickland, but says he still walked away from their session with a smile on his face after landing a few damaging shots.
“We do this whole thing, have a whole camera crew in there, no mouthpiece, no head guard, nothing. We did three three-minute rounds, and we were banging,” he said.
“My nose was messed up for two weeks straight, but we were cracking. I have all the footage and everything. It was a real fight, we were out there swinging.”
“Obviously he got the better of me, he’s a UFC world champion,” Crosby said. “I definitely landed some check hooks, I will say that, and the fact that I landed some, I gave him a little cut on his lip, I was proud of it. That guy is a maniac.”
Crosby is currently gearing up for his seventh game of the NFL season.
On Sunday, The Raiders will travel to take on the Chicago Bears who have won just one of their opening six games in 2023.
Meanwhile, Strickland is currently looking for an opponent for his first title defence after scoring one of the biggest upset wins in UFC history by beating Adesanya last month.
UFC CEO Dana White wanted to do an immediate rematch with ‘Stylebender’ but the former champion has revealed his intention is to step away from MMA for a considerable amount of time.
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Strickland could be matched up with the winner of the UFC 294 co-main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman or top contender Dricus du Plessis in 2024.
For now, he can sit back, relax and enjoy watching his friend in the NFL.
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