Dana White Calls Sean Strickland's Pay Claims 'Not True,' Points to May Contract
Dana White disputes Sean Strickland's earnings claims and says the middleweight champion signed a new deal just five months ago.
Dana White addressed Sean Strickland's ongoing pay complaints at the Contender Series post-fight press conference Tuesday night, calling the middleweight champion's publicly stated earnings figure "not true" and pointing to a new contract signed in May.
"The number that he claimed he made is not true," White said, per Sherdog. "Sean Strickland just signed a new contract in May. He got a whole new deal."
White said he had not spoken with Strickland directly and had only followed the situation through social media. He dismissed the complaints as typical Strickland behavior, asking, "When isn't Sean Strickland upset about something or doesn't have something to say?"
The dispute grew out of failed negotiations for a middleweight title defense against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 335. Strickland has complained publicly about his purse offer and compared his earnings unfavorably to Conor McGregor's reported $30 million and Conor Benn's reported $15 million from Zuffa Boxing.
Strickland has threatened to vacate the title, finish his remaining fights at light heavyweight, and pursue a boxing match with Jake Paul. On October 9, he posted that he "will not fight or sign any contract until I get this figured out."
Imavov has since offered to put up $500,000 if Strickland beats him in a proposed January matchup, and has called on the UFC to strip the belt if Strickland refuses to defend it.
White did not disclose the terms of the May contract or offer an alternative earnings figure. Neither side has produced documentation to support their claims.
Here's the thing about fighter pay disputes: nobody shows the receipts. Strickland throws a number out there, Dana says it's wrong, and we're supposed to pick a side with zero documentation. I'm not doing that.
What I will say is this. If Strickland signed a new deal in May and is already complaining by October, either the contract wasn't what he expected or the proposed purse for the Imavov fight is well below what he thinks a title defense should pay. Both are possible.
Strickland comparing himself to McGregor is a losing argument. McGregor moves pay-per-view buys in a way nobody else does. That's the reality. But Strickland doesn't need to be McGregor to deserve a fair payday as the reigning middleweight champion. The UFC's revenue is public. The revenue share isn't. That's the conversation nobody in the building wants to have.
