Dana White dismisses Strickland's pay complaints months after signing new UFC deal

Dana White has shrugged off Sean Strickland’s recent complaints about fighter pay, noting that the UFC middleweight champion agreed to a new contract just months ago.

Speaking to reporters after the final episode of Contender Series, White said he had not spoken directly with Strickland but had followed the situation through social media. His response was characteristically blunt. “When isn’t Sean Strickland upset about something or doesn’t have something to say?” White said.

Strickland sparked the dispute last week when he aired a list of grievances against the UFC, centring on pay negotiations for his proposed title defence against Nassourdine Imavov. The champion said he would refuse to defend the belt until the situation was resolved, and went as far as threatening to vacate the title and fight out his contract to become a free agent.

White’s primary counter was straightforward: Strickland had already secured a new deal. “Sean Strickland just signed a new contract in May,” White said. “He signed a new deal. Was that like, four months ago? Five months ago? And from what I hear, the number he’s putting out there, it’s not true. The number that he claimed he made is not true.”

Strickland had not disclosed an exact figure but claimed he earned “a fraction” of what Conor McGregor reportedly made at UFC 329 — a purse widely cited at $30 million. Strickland also expressed interest in boxing and offered to compete under the Zuffa Boxing banner, a proposal White showed no enthusiasm for.

“If we were in a situation where he’d been under the same contract for a year, two years — he just signed a contract in May,” White added. “He got a whole new deal in May. So it is what it is.”

Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight title at UFC 328 in May, earning a split-decision victory over Khamzat Chimaev. His next defence remains unscheduled while negotiations with Imavov’s camp continue.