Sean Strickland was expected to defend his middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 335, but the matchup never materialized. At the time, many believed money was the reason the fight had fallen through.
Over the past 24 hours, Strickland has taken his frustration with the UFC public, criticizing the promotion over his pay and current contract. The reigning 185-pound champion recently took to X to make it clear that he is unhappy with how things are going.
Strickland wrote, “I gotta be honest, unless things change with the UFC Im kinda over it.” He also pointed to Conor McGregor allegedly earning $30 million for his disastrous return at UFC 329, which lasted just over a minute.
I gotta be honest unless things change with the UFC Im kinda over it.
McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 second and they dont want to pay us a fraction of it.
Contemplating just going to 205 knocking out my contract and scrapping with @jakepaul
That sounds fun.
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) October 7, 2026
The middleweight champion even floated the idea of moving up to 205 pounds to finish out his UFC contract before switching to boxing and potentially facing Jake Paul for a bigger payday. Now, Strickland has taken his criticism a step further, accusing the UFC of damaging fighters’ legacies by failing to pay them enough to walk away from the sport on their own terms.
Sean Strickland Blasts UFC Over Fighter Pay, Claims Stars Cannot Retire on Their Own Terms
In a new video posted to Instagram, Strickland explained why he believes he has earned the right to pursue boxing after years of competing at the highest level in MMA.
He said, “I fought for the title four times, I won it twice, beat all the boogeymen of the division. I fought half the division already; I want to box. I want to go put a f*cking boxing title on my mantle. I deserve it. I don’t even do MMA; I just box. I will put hands on any boxer.”
Strickland also revisited his recent social media interaction with Jake Paul, in which the celebrity boxer was asked to have his management contact Most Valuable Promotions to discuss a potential fight.
The American then claimed he would have no trouble beating Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. He said, “If Jake Paul wants to give me a big old bag of money to fight him, I’m under contract, fine, I’ll go to Zuffa [Boxing], I’ll go beat your cruiserweight champ, easy.”
Strickland’s biggest issue, however, appears to go beyond his own contract. He believes the UFC benefits from building fighters into stars but does not always provide them with the financial security to step away once their careers begin to decline.
He explained, “But let me tell you something about the UFC, and I’m going to say the quiet part out loud that nobody says. You’ll go, and you’ll watch these champions, these savages of the sport, they run the division, and they take an L, and they come back, and they just fight like three or four times, they get f*cking flatlined.”
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The former middleweight champion then accused the promotion of pushing fighters to continue competing even when they have already given years of their lives to the sport.
He explained, “Like, dude, what happened to you? And you realize the UFC happened. They just don’t care anymore. The UFC, they don’t pay you enough money to walk away like, ‘Man, life is f*cking good. I’ve dedicated my life to this; I put the time in this.’ The UFC builds a legacy; they keep you right here, but they build a legacy, and they don’t pay you enough so you have to come back and ruin your legacy.”
Strickland made it clear that he does not want to find himself in that position. Rather than continuing to compete in MMA simply because he needs the money, he wants to test himself in boxing and pursue a title there.
He added, “I just don’t want to do that. It’s like this repackaged McDonald’s straight to the head. I’m not into it anymore. I want to fight, I want to box, I want to go win a boxing title, so we’re trying to work that out.”
Strickland also issued a warning about what could happen if the UFC refuses to accommodate his plans. He suggested he would no longer give his all in the Octagon and would instead focus on completing his contract before moving on.
“But if the UFC says, ‘Hey, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to make you fight,’ well, I’m going to stick and move. You guys are going to boo. Hell, I’ll f*cking boo with you while I’m doing it. Just stick and move, collect my check, and then move on. I mean, hell, here we are.”
On Wednesday, Strickland also discussed the physical toll of making the 185-pound middleweight limit. He explained that cutting weight requires a tremendous amount of work and believes his financial compensation does not reflect the effort involved.
With the proposed fight against Imavov still unresolved, Strickland’s future with the UFC remains uncertain. Whether the promotion can reach an agreement with its reigning middleweight champion or he eventually follows a path similar to Francis Ngannou’s departure remains to be seen.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
