Colby Covington sounds off on "hypocrite" Sean Strickland for calling UFC fighter pay "utter garbage"
Sean Strickland has not been shy about criticizing the UFC's fighter pay structure, including its entry-level contracts, which pay fighters $10,000 to show up and $10,000 to win.
In comments to Mike Perry, shared by Championship Rounds, the No.1-ranked middleweight stated:
"UFC pay is utter garbage lol they're signing guys at 10K/10K that should be criminal... but the vast majority of BKFC fighters are getting paid way less than that... As a UFC fighter I advocate for better pay for me and the entire roster... You should do the same for your guys."
Check out Sean Strickland's comments on UFC fighter pay below:
While he is not the first fighter to criticize the promotion's pay structure - and likely won't be the last - his comments drew the ire of Colby Covington. Speaking to Adam Sosnick of the SOSCAST podcast, 'Chaos' stated:
"My thoughts are, Sean changed his life, so he's kind of hypocritical to be saying this. Now he lives in a really nice mansion-style type house, has great cars, and has money in the bank. So who is he to say this? He's literally being a hypocrite too."
He added:
"He's just talking about the guys that just start in UFC. He's talking about the [$10,000/$10,000] pay? Yeah, that's when you just get your first fight in UFC. Let's talk about what he's making now. He's making guaranteed at least $500,000 to $1.5 million in that range per fight."
Check out Colby Covington's comments on Sean Strickland below (3:47):
Covington added that new fighters have yet to bring business to the UFC. Despite this, it is difficult to argue that all fighters are fairly compensated. Although the top-level fighters receive decent pay, the lower-level fighters often have to work other jobs. Furthermore, the revenue split between the promotion and fighters is far less than that in other professional sports.
Sean Strickland reiterates stance on waiting for a title shot after UFC 305 announcement
Sean Strickland has not been shy about his desire to fight for the middleweight title next after defending his spot as the No.1-ranked middleweight when he defeated Paulo Costa via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 302.
Following the announcement that Israel Adesanya will receive the first opportunity to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title, 'Tarzan' took to Instagram to troll both.
He shared an edited photo, captioning the post:
"I'll wait..."
Check out Sean Strickland's Instagram post below:
Adesanya has already revealed that if he captures the middleweight title for the third time, he hopes to face Strickland next. Meanwhile, du Plessis has also expressed interest in a rematch of their closely contested UFC 297 title bout.