Is Sean Strickland being treated unfairly? Analyzing his rift with the UFC

Sean Strickland is not happy with the UFC, and he has every right to feel the way that he does. He is the promotion's reigning middleweight champion, but isn't being compensated fairly as a relatively big name in what is ultimately an unforgiving sport.

The Sean Strickland vs. UFC beef

In what has been a difficult year for UFC champions, another titleholder in the promotion has found himself in a tough spot. Sean Strickland is currently at odds with the UFC over a pay dispute. He was originally reported to be defending his middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 335, but later revealed that he had not yet signed a bout agreement. He then brought up money issues with the UFC that appear to have caused negotiations to stall. Strickland was being offered $400k to show, and $400k to win, which he was justified in finding unacceptable. He countered the UFC's offer by asking for $1 million, reasoning that the likes of Conor McGregor earn $30 million, while Conor Benn, a solid but not elite boxer, pocketed $15 million in a Zuffa Boxing fight with Ryan Garcia, which he lost via second-round TKO.

Despite a very reasonable request, Strickland appears to have been rebuffed, prompting him to take to social media and announce that he's fallen out of love with MMA. It's tough not to feel hard done by in his position. While Strickland is nowhere near the star McGregor is, he's right to question why Benn was reportedly paid $15 million by Zuffa Boxing. Benn is an exciting boxer, but not that good. He's never been a true world champion, and is unlikely to to ever be one. Strickland, by contrast, is a world champion in his sport. He's the UFC middleweight champion, and what he lacks in in-cage excitement, he makes up for with the hype he generates at press conferences with his unfiltered trash talk. It has earned him a lot of popularity, more-so than Benn, who has 2.9 million Instagram followers to Strickland's 3.3 million.

Furthermore, the UFC is worth several billions of dollars. A $1 million payout to one of its bigger stars would hardly make a dent. Strickland deserves it, and even more-so based on how active he's been throughout the years. To treat one of its most famous 'company men' this poorly would do the promotion no favors in the long-term.