Sean Strickland Fires Back at Joaquin Buckley With Blunt 'Tax Returns' Challenge After Viral Callout

Sean Strickland has found himself in another heated dispute, but this time it is completely outside his own weight class. Amid his frustrations with the UFC over his current contract status and fighter pay, the middleweight champion has ignited a fiery personal feud with welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley.

Sean Strickland Answers Joaquin Buckley's Dare With Tax Returns Challenge

The bad blood between the two fighters actually dates back to earlier in the year. It ignited after Strickland casually uttered the N-word during a live appearance at a Brand Risk Promotions event. Buckley immediately blasted Strickland online for his language. 

Tensions escalated dramatically just days ago when Buckley and an associate tracked down Strickland at a hotel lobby and confronted him in person. "Tarzan" fired back after that encounter, releasing old gym sparring footage where he appeared to drop Buckley with a punch while mockingly labeling him the "Black version of a Karen."

Their unresolved animosity exploded into a fresh controversy this week when Buckley issued a bizarre public challenge. In a recent Instagram video, "New Mansa" called out Strickland, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkov and Josh Hokit for casually using the same racial slur. 

He dared any of them to walk into an all-Black nightclub, take over the DJ booth with no security present and shout the slur to the crowd. He also promised that if they successfully pulled it off, he would permanently drop the subject.

Strickland wasted no time answering Buckley's dare with a counter-offer aimed at the welterweight’s finances. He revived the feud by calling Buckley a "Black Karen" again. 

In a follow-up post, he added, "I'll go yell in a club if Buck goes to the IRS and shows them his tax returns. M—----ers record looks better than his credit score."

Strickland’s financial jabs highlight how differently their careers are going right now. The 35-year-old reclaimed the middleweight title at UFC 328 by handing former champion Khamzat Chimaev the very first loss of his professional career via a grueling split decision.

On that same night, Buckley's momentum took a major hit when he dropped a clear unanimous decision to Sean Brady. Seeking to bounce back, Buckley headlined a UFC Fight Night card in October but ended up suffering a second-round knockout loss to Mike Malott. 

Strickland One of Many Fighters Targeting Buckley Over Inflammatory Remarks

However, Strickland is not the only fighter who fired back at Buckley. Volkov, who recently secured a unanimous decision victory over Rizvan Kuniev at UFC 333, also addressed the bizarre dare.

He openly questioned why a Russian heavyweight should be crashing a nightclub, jokingly asking his followers if an all-Black club is simply a more fun place to hang out. It remains to be seen how the other targeted fighters will react, and if anyone will actually take the bait.