Sean Strickland has been handed an extended suspension from MMA following an incident in June.
Strickland caused chaos at Tuff-N-Uff 145 last month when he stormed the cage and landed two punches on one of his opponent’s teammates.
The former UFC middleweight champion was cornering Miles Hunsinger, who faced Luis Hernandez at 185lbs at the regional MMA event.
Hernandez stuck his middle finger up after submitting Hunsinger with a standing guillotine choke, before making rude gestures towards his opponent’s corner.
This prompted Strickland, 34, and fellow UFC fighter Chris Curtis to enter the cage and make a beeline for the undefeated fighter.
The incident landed Strickland in hot water with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), who slapped the UFC star with a temporary suspension last month.
This has since been upheld, and Strickland will now have to wait until August at the minimum for his case to be resolved.
The NSAC voted unanimously to extend Strickland’s suspension on Wednesday.
“In connection with the June 29, 2025, contest held in Las Vegas, NV, which the respondent was not participating in as a combatant,” Matthew Feeley of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office said.
“The respondent engaged in a physical altercation with a contestant immediately after the contestant’s bout.”
As originally reported by MMA Fighting, Strickland will now have to wait until a full disciplinary hearing or adjudication is agreed upon.
That won’t happen until the commission comes together again for their monthly meeting next month at the earliest.
Strickland has competed in the UFC since 2014, winning 16 of his 23 bouts in Dana White‘s promotion.
He scored a massive upset win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023 to claim the middleweight title.
He dropped the belt four months later to current champion Dricus du Plessis, before earning a split decision victory over Paulo Costa to cement his name back in the title picture at 185 lbs.
However, Strickland failed to recapture the middleweight title in his last bout, as he was outpointed by du Plessis in their rematch at UFC 312 in February.
Du Plessis makes his third defence of the belt against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 next month.
The pair meet in Chicago on August 16, with Brit Michael Page also featuring on the main card against Jared Cannonier at middleweight.
