Sean Strickland wanted to fight Jake Paul but claims the UFC denied his request, leading to an ongoing war of words between the two, with Strickland offering to meet Paul face-to-face to settle their differences.
Sean Strickland had his eyes set on a fight with Jake Paul. But, according to him, the UFC didn’t give him the go-ahead.
The ex-middleweight champ recently had a verbal spat with Paul. This was after Paul, a 27-year-old boxer, criticized Strickland for roughing up a green social influencer in a sparring session. That’s when Paul threw down the gauntlet. He dared Strickland to come to Puerto Rico for a fight.
The deal? If Strickland won, Paul would cough up $1 million from his own stash. If Strickland lost, he’d have to get a tattoo of the logo from Paul’s betting app, BETR.
Strickland tried to get the UFC’s blessing for the fight. But, he says, they shot him down.
“Jake Paul offered me a million dollars, knowing I can’t do that,” Strickland vented on his YouTube channel. He even spoke to UFC Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell. He told him, “Hunter, I will fight this man. You let Conor McGregor fight Mayweather. This is an easier fight, easier money. Can I do that?”
Hunter’s response? Paul doesn’t sell fights. They have to give away tickets when he fights. He doesn’t make money. His target audience is children, and they don’t buy pay-per-views.
Strickland was bummed. He thought, “I’ll take a payday beating up this guy. That sounds easy enough.” But, Jake Paul is an influencer. His audience is kids. Kids don’t buy pay-per-views. Strickland’s advice to Paul? Attract some adults, then they can fight.
Paul has criticized the UFC before. He’s not a fan of their restrictive contracts that stop fighters from chasing lucrative deals outside the UFC. According to the UFC’s exclusive contract, fighters need permission to participate in any combat sport outside the UFC.
Strickland had another idea. He invited Paul to meet him face-to-face to sort out their differences behind closed doors. No cameras.
Strickland said, “Jake Paul, you know I can’t fight you. We know this. The UFC knows this. But what we can do — you can fly your fancy plane to Vegas, and we can have a little pow-wow.
“I’ll do it for free. I don’t need a check. I don’t need to live stream it. I will do it for free, sir. So if you want to show everyone how big and hard you are, let me know when.”
But, it seems like Strickland and Paul won’t be meeting, or fighting, or anything else. Just more social media banter.
Strickland couldn’t resist a parting shot at Paul.
“Jake Paul, I got knocked out by a world champion kickboxer — a two-time UFC champion,” Strickland said, referring to his past fight with Alex Pereira. “You got beat by a part-time boxer [Tommy Fury] you used to try and pad your record.
“You’re an embarrassment to yourself. You’re an embarrassment to me, and you’re an embarrassment to the world. Enjoy.”