Featured Image Credit: Chris Unger / Contributor via Getty
Current UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has been called out on social media for his latest Instagram post, as he shared an AI generated video that shows him punching and kicking Dylan Mulvaney in something fans have labeled 'disgusting'.
The video, shared on May 3 to Strickland's Instagram page, shows the UFC fighter in the octagon alongside broadway star and notable trans figure Dylan Mulvaney, with the footage likely generated using AI video tools.
Strickland is shown relentlessly striking Mulvaney – who appears to be wearing a pink dress and similarly colored fighting gear – kicking and kneeing the actor in her body alongside a string of punches thrown at her face.
The fight concludes with Mulvaney collapsing to the ground and the referee stopping the fight, and a Bud Light commercial then appears alongside a tagline reminding viewers that the drink is the 'Official Beer Sponsor of UFC'.
The post's caption sees Strickland write: "Ive yet to see one rainbow flag. We're back!!! 🇺🇸 🇺🇲," tagging the official Bud Light account in the process.
Mulvaney became a target of the American political right back in April 2023, when the actress shared a post on Instagram sponsored by Bud Light as part of a March Madness campaign.
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The post, which featured a custom-made can celebrating the first anniversary of Mulvaney's gender transition, prompted backlash from anti-trans individuals online, leading to a conservative-led boycott of the drink.
Since then, Mulvaney has become a stand-in of sorts for trans people and the wider LGBTQ community for many right-wind individuals, and Strickland's post on the third day of Pride Month can be viewed as a significant statement in opposition to that.
His comment about there not being any 'rainbow flags' is likely due to the lack of companies openly supporting and participating in Pride Month messaging, which saw a notable drop off after US President Donald Trump was reelected in November 2024.
While Strickland's post does appear to have amused similarly-minded individuals on social media, he has received a far greater amount of criticism, including numerous comments branding the video 'disgusting'.
One Reddit user who shared the video to the r/Fauxmoi subreddit wrote that they "didn't want to post the video because it's violent and disgusting," adding that "it's disappointing to not see more people speak up for Dylan."
Another that "some people still don't understand how normalized violence against trans people is. Trans people, more often than not trans women, occupy a specific space in these f***ed up men's minds where it's acceptable to beat, assault and rape them because they are 'men' but it also allows them to carry out their violent fantasies against women in a way society deems acceptable."
The comments underneath the UFC fighter's post are also predominantly critical, with one declaring: "We don't care about you... happy Pride!!"
Other comments joked that "you can tell it's AI because Sean wins a fight," with a third chiming in to state that the "only fight you can win is an imaginary one."
Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch don't appear to have commented or issued any response to Strickland's post in the day since it was shared on Instagram, despite the company being an active partner with UFC and a former collaborator with Mulvaney.
The company did appear to distance itself from Mulvaney following the backlash and boycott in 2023, with Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth declaring that "we never intended to be a part of a discussion that divides people" in a statement, with a revised ad campaign issued later that same month.
UNILADTech has reached out to Anheuser-Busch for comment, but has not yet received a response.
