Rockstar Games recently released the trailer for their highly-awaited project, GTA 6. Following its release, the trailer became a major talking point for numerous reasons. Interestingly, UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland also found himself involved in the matter.
For those unaware, Sean Strickland has been a largely polarizing character in the MMA community. In the past, ‘Tarzan’ has often been criticized for making out-of-line comments on various topics. However, since his win over Israel Adesanya, a lot more people have become accepting of the 32-year-old. Thus, Strickland has since started interacting with the online masses a lot more.
With the release of the recent GTA 6 trailer, many couldn’t help but make a comparison between one of the protagonists to Strickland. According to the rumors, the latest GTA installment will have a male and female protagonist, Jason and Lucia, respectively. Whilst some believe that Jason resembles Strickland, others feel that UFC influencer Nina Marie Daniele resembles Lucia.
Taking to social media, many fans shared their thoughts on the matter. Notably, some MMA pages felt that Jason had a striking resemblance to either Sean or UFC middleweight Abus Magomedov. Additionally, it must be noted that the two protagonists have undergone significant makeovers since the game’s development. As such, it is currently unclear whether they were redone on purpose, to resemble someone in particular.
Sean Strickland prefers Rockstar over EA Games
Unsurprisingly, Sean Strickland was very welcoming of the comparisons with the GTA protagonist. Additionally, the fact that the female protagonist was compared to Nina Marie, likely made things even better for him. Ever since her work with the UFC began, there have been more than a few interactions between the pair. More often than not, their interactions make for an entertaining watch.
For one, Nina is a good sport and manages to balance out Sean’s unfiltered, unapologetic way of talking quite well. Not only that, but Nina Marie has become well-liked in the community. Owing to her conversational skills and well-kept appearance, she has become an influencer that people look forward to watching. Most recently, her parody video on Jiu-Jitsu training with Laura Sanko also went viral, for all the right reasons, of course.
I’d rather be in @RockstarGames than a EA game…
But to EAs credit they give the fans what they want…… we have always wanted to play as a disabled trans female in WW2.. thanks EA……. you really deliver…… pic.twitter.com/UwOBriKzen
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 5, 2023
Coming back to Sean Strickland, he recently professed his wish to be in a Rockstar Games project rather than that of an EA Games one. Taking to X, Strickland wrote, “I’d rather be in @RockstarGame than a EA game… But to EAs credit they give the fans what they want…… we have always wanted to play as a disabled trans female in WW2.. thanks EA……. you really deliver.” For those unaware, Strickland was referring to EA’s Battlefield V here.
Previously, EA’s Battlefield V trailer raised eyebrows after the inclusion of a female British protagonist with a bionic arm. At the time, there was a lot of outrage regarding the inaccurate depiction, especially in a World War II setting. Thus, some, including Strickland, felt that the game was anything but historically accurate and a disrespect to the soldiers martyred during the war. A controversial topic, to say the least, the matter heavily divided fan opinion at the time.