Two-time UFC champion Strickland threatens to walk over McGregor pay gap

Sean Strickland, a two-time UFC middleweight champion, has threatened to leave the promotion and run out his contract fighting Jake Paul after publicly venting his frustration over the pay gap between himself and Conor McGregor.

Strickland claimed his second middleweight title at UFC 328 this past May, earning a split decision over the previously unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev. Despite holding the belt, he has yet to schedule a title defence — citing both injury and unresolved compensation disputes as reasons for his inactivity.

On Wednesday, Strickland took to Twitter to make his grievances explicit. “I gotta be honest unless things change with the UFC I’m kind over it,” he wrote. “McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 seconds and they don’t want to pay us a fraction of it. Contemplating just going to 205, knocking out my contract and scrapping with Jake Paul. That sounds fun.”

Strickland also referenced the recent Zuffa Boxing signing of Conor Benn, who was reportedly contracted for $15 million — a figure that drew public reactions from fellow UFC stars Max Holloway, Israel Adesanya, and Sean O’Malley. “McGregor, 30 million. Some lame boxer, 15 million,” Strickland wrote. “The thought of just giving up my belt and going to 205 and speed-running my contract to fight Jake and make what these guys are making sounds pretty damn appealing.”

The outburst is notable given Strickland’s reputation as a UFC company man. He rose steadily through the middleweight ranks on the back of near-constant activity and pulled off two of the division’s biggest upsets, defeating both Chimaev and Adesanya as a heavy underdog on each occasion. Yet this is not the first time he has criticised the UFC’s pay structure — he previously described it as “predatory” in earlier interviews.

It is not known how many bouts remain on Strickland’s current contract, and no timeline for his next title defence has been announced.