Sean Strickland says he wants to box and that his camp is working to make it happen. The UFC middleweight champion said in a new video posted to his X account Thursday that he is done with the UFC, which he accused of not caring about its fighters anymore.
“I want to fight, I want to box. We’re trying to work that out, but if the UFC says ‘we’re not gonna do that,’ well, I’m gonna stick and move,” Strickland said.
He opened with a pay complaint. “I’m gonna say the quiet part out loud that nobody says… the [UFC] just doesn’t care anymore. They don’t pay you enough money to walk away,” Strickland said. “The UFC builds a legacy, they don’t pay you enough so you have to come back and ruin your legacy.” He called the current product “this goyslop, repackaged, McDonalds straight to the head” and added, “I’m not doing it anymore.”
Zuffa Boxing or Jake Paul
Strickland has not said who he wants to box or where. Early Thursday he said he would talk to the UFC about what Zuffa Boxing has to offer, which would keep him inside the UFC’s orbit. On Wednesday he said he would rather put his hands on Jake Paul than stay with the UFC, and Paul told him to have his promoter call Most Valuable Promotions once he is out of contract.
The timing matters. Strickland is one of the names on the wish list Paul posted Wednesday night, and MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian announced Thursday that Paul has been cleared to return to the ring.
The obstacle is the contract. Strickland remains under UFC contract, so he cannot book a boxing fight elsewhere without the promotion’s blessing, and no bout with Paul or anyone else in boxing has been announced. He reclaimed the middleweight title at UFC 328 in May, and his first defense against Nassourdine Imavov is still not official amid the pay dispute.
