Valentina Shevchenko responded to Sean Strickland‘s derogatory comments about women’s MMA and Paige VanZant, calling him out for getting less money in his entire fighting career than female fighters do and suggesting that the UFC add some cash to his purse.
Valentina Shevchenko did not take Sean Strickland’s comments lightly. The former flyweight champion fired off a rare shot on social media after the UFC middleweight champion insulted Paige VanZant and called women’s MMA “lame.” Strickland’s remarks came after VanZant recently disclosed that she earned more money in just 24 hours on her Only Fans platform than through all of her fight purses combined (1).
A former flyweight champion, Shevchenko is generally hailed as one of the greatest mixed martial artists in UFC history, regardless of gender. The 35-year-old returned fire at Strickland on social media, telling the UFC middleweight champ that he looked “more like an offended kid” in his divisive comments about VanZant. Shevchenko’s response also pointed out that Strickland has earned less money in his entire fighter career than female fighters do, with a suggestion that the UFC might add some cash to his purse next time (2).
Strickland is currently scheduled to make the first defense of his title against Dricus du Plessis on January 20 at UFC 297. Shevchenko, on the other hand, is currently unbooked following her two-fight championship series with Grasso, the most recent of which ended in a split draw (3).