Sean Strickland says he "will not fight or sign any contract" after six-fight deal report

The UFC middleweight champion signed a new six-fight deal before beating Khamzat Chimaev, MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported. Strickland says he wants to box and will "stick and move" if made to fight.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Sat 10 Oct, 11:08 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Sean Strickland after winning the UFC middleweight title — Photo: Getty Images via MMA Fighting

Sean Strickland says he will not fight again until his dispute with the UFC over pay is settled. "I will not fight or sign any contract until I get this figured out," he posted on X on 9 October. "Hopefully we get it figured out soon. Thanks for all your support it helps!"

His post came hours after MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported on The Bohnfire that Strickland had signed a new six-fight deal with the UFC before he beat Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 328 in May.

In a video on his Instagram the night before, Strickland said he wanted to box. "I wanna go put a f***ing boxing title on my mantle," he said. "Hell, I don't even do MMA, I just box." He added: "Jake Paul wants to give me a big old bag of money to fight him. I'm under contract. Fine, I'll go to Zuffa. I'll go beat your cruiserweight champ easy."

He said the UFC does not "pay you enough money to walk away", and warned what would happen if he were forced to fight: "If the UFC says... we're going to make you fight, well, I'm going to stick and move. You guys are going to boo. Hell, I'll f***ing boo with you while I'm doing it. Just stick and move, collect my check, and then move on."

Dana White, asked about Strickland boxing on the Power Slap 24 broadcast on 9 October, said: "I don't think it ever goes good crossing over the boxing with the MMA, but Strickland is a tough guy, you know, and has hands."

Earlier in the week Strickland said he was "kinda over it" with the UFC, compared his pay with Conor McGregor's and traded posts with Jake Paul: Strickland on pay, McGregor and Jake Paul.