About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Demetrious Johnson says Sean Strickland has to decide if he really wants to be a UFC fighter or not.
UFC middleweight champion Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) signed a six-fight deal prior to challenging Khamzat Chimaev for the title in May. He dethroned Chimaev at UFC 328 and has been expected to defend his belt in a rematch against Nassourdine Imavov .
However, amid negotiations to fight Imavov, Strickland has publicly expressed discontent with his pay . Strickland has support from the likes of Jorge Masvidal , but former UFC flyweight champion Johnson theorizes why Strickland is airing his grievances.
"When is enough, enough? There has to come a point in time when enough is enough," Johnson said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "Do I wish I made more money? One thousand percent, but I'm not going to sit here and gripe and moan about it. What's done is done, now I'm moving forward, and I think when you see an athlete sign for a nine-fight deal, if he's happy with it, I have to be happy with his decision. But at the end of the day, it's Sean Strickland's journey. It's his career. If he's not happy with it, then I have to respect that he's unhappy with it. Doesn't mean I have to agree with him. I would just like him to do it however he wants to do it.
"But I think if he just comes out and says, 'This is what I want, the UFC isn't going to give it to me, so I'm going to fight out the rest of my contract, and then I'm going to move to boxing.' Or, 'I don't want to do mixed martial arts anymore because the money's not good' then he just walks away. You're given options. I'm a black-and-white type of person. He signed a contract, he's got five fights left, maybe he didn't think he was going to win (vs. Chimaev), and now he's stuck in this position where he's not going to make that type of money he thought he was going to make."
After parting ways with the UFC, Johnson revealed his shockingly low pay after breaking the record for most title defenses.
"I've been in his position before, and at the end of the day, I fought through my contract as a champion because I wanted more money, and they weren't going to give me more money," Johnson said. "When I'm fighting, I'm finishing people, I'm creating moves in there, I'm f*cking exciting – whether people believe it or not. And I fought through that contract. So, I've been there before. You've got to decide, do you want to fight, yes or no? That's just how I do business."
Where the situation goes from here remains to be seen, but Strickland is adamant that he "will not fight or sign any contract until I get this figured out."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ shares 'black-and-white' reality of Sean Strickland contract dispute
Source: Sports
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