Arman Tsarukyan says Sean Strickland should have been smarter before signing his UFC contract

The middleweight champion says the UFC will not match his pay demands, while Dana White has said Strickland agreed a new deal in May.

Arman Tsarukyan has no sympathy for Sean Strickland in his pay dispute with the UFC, saying the middleweight champion should have been smarter before he signed his current contract.

Asked about Strickland's situation in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Tsarukyan said: "He signed the contract? If he didn't sign the contract, yeah, you can and like renegotiate." He added: "How you can sign your contract, fight one more fight, next fight you know before the fight, second one is gonna be this purse and then you signing the contract? You gotta be a little smart."

Tsarukyan suggested Strickland may have doubted his chances against Khamzat Chimaev. "Maybe he didn't believe in himself that he's gonna beat Khamzat, that's why he signed," he said. "He's gotta take the fights, do a couple more fights, and then re-sign his contract."

Strickland beat Chimaev at UFC 328 in May to become a two-time middleweight champion, and Dana White has said Strickland agreed a new contract with the UFC that same month. Strickland had been expected to defend the title against Nassourdine Imavov in a rumoured December fight, but when that bout was not announced for UFC 335, he said the UFC was not willing to match his pay demands.

Tsarukyan has stayed busy between UFC fights with wrestling and grappling matches, and he wrestles Dillon Danis at RAF 14 on Friday night after the pair brawled at the RAF 14 press conference this week.

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