Sean Strickland criticizes UFC for low fighter pay and management

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 15: (R-L) UFC CEO Dana White, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley are seen on stage during the UFC 2024 seasonal press conference at MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Sean Strickland has never been afraid to share his views, even when they might land him in hot water with his employer. Over the past few years, the UFC middleweight champion has become perhaps even more famous for the things he says outside of the cage, rather than the fighting he does inside of it. An outspoken and controversial figure in a space full of them, Strickland is one of the few high-profile fighters who has also been known to call out the UFC for its compensation. Speaking with the Shawn Ryan Show on Monday, the middleweight champion revealed to his interviewer just how bad things can be in the world’s No. 1 MMA promotion. “When you’re a fighter, you’re so f*cking poor,” Strickland said. “Even in the UFC. UFC guys, they’re signing guys at like, 10 and 10, [$10,000] to show, [$10,000] to win, $20 grand. So then you pay off your manager, you pay taxes; if you lose, you only get like eight, seven grand. “Now, say you go get injured or get locked out. The UFC is f*cking brutal. The UFC is so f*cking predatory. This is why you see a lot of foreigners excel, because guys in Brazil that live in the f*cking favelas, $10 grand to them, that’s f*cking life-changing. I have buddies that go and live in Dagestan or Brazil, and they go back and live like a f*cking king. Like bro, you can’t even pay rent for a couple months here. “So the UFC is so f*cking predatory pay. Like, I’m happy. I make good money. But only the very top guys are making money.” Fighter pay in the UFC has been an ongoing issue for years at this point, elevated by the revelation that fighters earn roughly 20 percent of the revenue, compared to the nearly 50/50 split of other major sports leagues. The last few years have also seen the influx of cheap talent via Dana White’s Contender Series, which awards the entry-level contracts Strickland referenced. Strickland also noted some other ways the UFC makes life hard on fighters under its umbrella, primarily via a carrot-and-stick method of offering additional incentives for some fights, and then freezing out fighters who refuse to play ball. “It’s so predatory. Mind you, you could get a couple fights. The UFC, they love for you to take a short-notice fight,” Strickland said. “If the UFC calls you and they say, ‘Hey, you want to take a fight on five days’ notice?’ They will give you like, maybe a 30, 40, 50-grand pay bump. The UFC loves that shit. Short-notice fights give you the biggest pay bumps. “There’s a [matchmaker] named Sean Shelby. Everybody hates dealing with him. I’m friends with him, but he was my [matchmaker] at welterweight. Dude, he was such a f*cking c*nt. I say this as a friend, Sean. You’re a nice guy, but everybody f*cking hates you. … “This guy is so f*cking brutal. You could have a boring fight or something, and this motherf*cker will bench you for like eight months. Or you could say, ‘Hey Sean, I want a fight.’ He’ll call you two weeks out from a fight, like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a fight for you.’ Dude, two weeks out. You can’t give me a little more f*cking notice? And if you say no, he’ll bench your ass. Yeah, the UFC is f*cking brutal. “This is why the UFC attracts f*cking degenerates, 10 and 10 for a lot of guys, where they come from, that’s still a lot of f*cking money. But yes, I would tell anybody, ‘Don’t join the UFC.’” This is far from the first time Strickland has been critical of the UFC or its compensation; but in previous instances, the two-time champion has usually offered at least some small caveat as it relates to himself, and concluded his thoughts on the matter similarly. “As much as I hate the UFC, and I knock on them, they give people opportunity you’d never have,” Strickland said. “I’d never have opportunity.”