Opinion: Sean Strickland's UFC pay fight may only help himself
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Sean Strickland is taking a stand. Will anyone join him? | 📷: Getty/UFC
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For the last week or so, Sean Strickland has been the talk of the mixed martial arts world. That’s hardly unusual, but the topic has caught some people off guard. It isn’t about beating up “tough guys” who walk into his gym off the street. It isn’t about “snowflakes” who are “part of the problem.” This time, he’s talking about fighter pay and vowing not to fight again until his contract dispute is resolved. Perhaps that isn’t surprising, either. But his criticism of Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter pay in general — not just his own compensation — has some of his typical detractors reluctantly agreeing with him.
Why UFC fighter-pay reform requires more than Sean Strickland's contract dispute
While I’m sure Strickland has friends and training partners he’d like to see get a pay bump, I suspect his broader criticism, including the UFC’s tendency to keep recognizable fighters around past their prime, is also about getting the public behind him. After all, plenty of fans already believe UFC fighters are underpaid. Comparing their compensation with salaries in major team sports gives him an argument that’s easy to sell. Unlike salaried players, UFC fighters generally earn their contracted fight purses only when they compete.
Take baseball. The average MLB salary was about $5.34 million at the start of the 2026 season. Spread across a 162-game schedule, that works out to roughly $33,000 per team game, whether the player takes the field that day or not. That calculation isn’t a perfect comparison with a fighter’s purse: It doesn’t account for differences in schedules, revenue or compensation structures. But it helps explain why Strickland didn’t have to look far for an issue that would get fans behind him.
As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I don’t think Strickland’s stance will make a difference for fighters as a whole. I suppose he could get a bump for himself. But a roster-wide change? There’s a better chance of my fat old ass becoming a UFC champion.
We’ve seen this before. Remember when the antitrust litigation against the UFC revealed how much of its revenue went to fighters? Historical figures disclosed in the case put their share at roughly 15% to 22% in several years. By comparison, NFL players’ negotiated share is approximately 48%, though the accounting differs between sports. You might think those disclosures would have fighters up in arms, demanding more. The litigation produced a $375 million settlement covering more than 1,000 current and former fighters who competed during the relevant period. That matters. But it did not produce a collective bargaining agreement for the active roster, and I didn’t see a sustained push from current fighters to demand one.
What about the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, launched in 2016 with Georges St. Pierre and former Bellator executive Bjorn Rebney involved? One of the sport’s most popular fighters had joined an effort backed by someone who understood the business of running a promotion. The goals included a 50% revenue share and a collective bargaining agreement. Other prominent fighters involved included Donald Cerrone, T.J. Dillashaw, Tim Kennedy and Cain Velasquez. What ultimately came of it? No collective bargaining agreement. That effort had a group of prominent fighters behind it, not just one fighter like Strickland.
Some fighters have received bigger bonuses since the Paramount deal took effect. After more than a decade with standard $50,000 postfight awards, the UFC increased its Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses to $100,000 this year. Fighters who finish their opponents but do not receive one of those awards get a $25,000 bonus. That doesn’t establish the kind of negotiated revenue sharing found in other major sports. But those increases can make a difference in fighters’ lives — and I suspect they reduce the urgency some feel to organize.
I don’t see fighters securing a comparable revenue share without making a unified demand. That would require an effective collective organization and major sacrifices from those involved. It would also require more solidarity than we’ve seen so far, something that may be harder to build in an individual sport. Fighters train together, and bonds often form after they compete against one another, but that isn’t the same as sharing a locker room and an employer’s schedule throughout a season. History offers no simple timeline. Baseball players formed their modern association in the 1950s and hired Marvin Miller in 1966, beginning its transformation into an effective labor union. NBA players established their association in 1954, eight years after the league’s roots in the Basketball Association of America, but meaningful recognition took another decade.
I know a lot of people think Strickland is an idiot. After all, he says some idiotic things. But I think this is a brilliant strategy on his part. He appears to understand how unlikely fighters are to band together right now. Too many seem happy simply to be paid to fight and carry the title of UFC fighter. I suspect the UFC understands that, too. Public criticism may irritate the promotion, but Strickland isn’t raising an unfamiliar complaint. Meanwhile, he can win support by presenting himself as someone who “isn’t in it just for himself.” If enough fans rally behind him, perhaps he can use that pressure to renegotiate, even though Dana White says he signed a new contract in May.
I hope I’m wrong. I really hope I’m wrong. But I suspect enough UFC fighters are satisfied with incremental pay increases to keep a collective effort from gaining traction. So while Strickland is talking a big game for everyone, I think he’s primarily looking out for No. 1. Given how many others appear to be doing the same, it’s hard to fault him.
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