Overview
- Strickland said Wednesday that he is "kinda over it," publicly comparing UFC pay unfavorably with boxing and suggesting he could leave the promotion or move to light heavyweight to fight Jake Paul.
- The middleweight champion is not booked for the UFC’s year-end card, UFC 335, after talks with the promotion failed to produce a signed deal for a December defense.
- Rival Nassourdine Imavov and other fighters have tried to pressure the situation by offering money or publicly sweetening a rematch, but no formal agreement has been reached.
- Any move to boxing or out of the UFC would require resolving Strickland’s existing contract, so a crossover fight is not an immediate option even as he frames it as leverage.
- The dispute highlights a wider tension between UFC pay structures and high-profile boxing purses and could prompt tougher negotiations over champion compensation and future booking of title fights.