“UFC pay is utter garbage!” Sean Strickland continues to blast Dana White and top brass for terrible fighter pay – SportsVikings

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is sitting on title shot chances after UFC 302. Meanwhile, he has traded barbs with the BKFC brand and their star Mike Perry. In a weird twist, ‘Tarzan’ isn’t barbing down Perry. Instead, he advocates better fighter pay for his promotion and that of Perry’s.

Sean Strickland was on the debutant roster trying out the new UFC Official gloves. During UFC 302 pre-fight media day, he was posed with the afterthought of fighting without gloves in the BKFC. Strickland didn’t shy away from slamming bare-knuckle fighting and the subsequent payouts. Mike Perry took offense to the statement and responded immediately.

Sean Strickland is fighting for the UFC for pesos, and I’m getting ‘paid’ over here….He’s always posting videos on Instagram…where he walks outside his garage or his front door, and somebody is in his driveway and he’s trying to fight bare knuckle there for free…
Mike Perry via the OverDogs Podcast, @Kanpai_Media (@overdogspodcast)

Former UFC welterweight ‘Platinum’ Perry is undefeated after signing with BKFC. Perry won big at the BKFC KnuckleMania 4 headliner last, defending his ‘King of Violence’ title. Strickland’s comments drew a jibe from Perry, who claimed that “Tarzan” fights in the UFC for “pesos.” Strickland had his own reply that might have come at the expense of his promotion (UFC).

UFC pay is utter garbage lol their signing guys at 10/10 that should be criminal… but the vast majority of BKFC fighters are getting paid way less than that….. As a UFC fighter I advocate for better pay for me and the entire roster….While I’m on my soap box from a poor man who became kinda a rich man once you have capital it just snow balls…elites could probably never take a paycheck again and easily make 500k a year….
Sean Strickland via X (@stricklandmma)

Perry made a whopping $600,000 fight purse at the BKFC Knucklemania 4. Meanwhile, The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) details that Crystal Pittman ($8000 total) and Sydney Smith received a reported $500 payout at the bottom stack of the card. While Strickland’s point ranked certain merit, his tone came out irksome. BKFC fighter Eddie Alvarez remarked on his criticism as well.

Sean Strickland has consistently spoken about Fighter Pay over the years

Not many fighters in the UFC voice out their displeasure with having lesser pay. Most fighters voice it out once they have left the promotion. Mike Perry, Corey Anderson, and Eddie Alvarez have spoken about how much more they made after leaving the UFC. Recently, Sean Strickland recently bagged a slow-running split decision victory over Paulo Costa at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Sean Strickland (via Imago)

In the leadup to the fight, Strickland opened up about fighter pay conversations. UFC Hall of Famer and commentator Daniel Cormier interviewed Strickland ahead of UFC 302. Cormier has the reputation of being a company man and always holds UFC in the highest regard. However, he had an unfortunate moment when Strickland started bashing the UFC over fighter pay. Cormier remained silent and did not push back or entertain the topic in any way.