Sean Strickland explained why the UFC restricted him from fighting ‘The Problem Child.’
Strickland was surrounded by controversy last week, as he found himself in separate verbal arguments with Jake Paul, Machine Gun Kelly, and Bryce Hall. When it comes to Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer labeled him as a bully and offered the former UFC middleweight champion a million dollars to fight him in Puerto Rico.
For those who don’t know by now, Strickland isn’t afraid of fighting anybody, regardless of the circumstances. Therefore, the 32-year-old showed interest in accepting Paul’s offer, but one thing stood in the way – his UFC contract.
Strickland released a YouTube video breaking down his hectic week and had this to say about the UFC denying his request to fight ‘The Problem Child’:
“So, Jake Paul offered me a million dollars knowing that it is impossible for me to [fight him]. I actually talked to Hunter [Campbell]. I was like, ‘Hunter, I will fight this man. You let Conor McGregor fight [Floyd] Mayweather. This is an easier fight, easier money. Can I do that?’ Hunter explained to me, Hunter is like the left hand or right hand of Dana [White], they’re equal, they’re d*mn close, and Hunter explained to me that he sells no fights.”
Strickland continued by detailing the accusations Hunter Campbell allegedly told him about Paul’s boxing career:
“When they have fights, they give away tickets, he doesn’t make money. His target audience is children and they don’t buy pay-per-views. So, a little depressing because I thought to myself, you know what, I’ll take a payday beating up this f*cking man. That sounds easy enough.”
Shawn Strickland you’re embarrassing for trying to stop sneako like that
you weren’t even able to drop someone with no experience while going all out😅
You’re a horrid boxer that only picks on inexperienced people..
I’ll fly you to PR and we can fight on camera… if you win…
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) February 9, 2024
Sean Strickland offers Jake Paul a chance to settle their differences with “a little powwow”
Sean Strickland isn’t giving up on potentially fighting Jake Paul, even if they are forced to make it happen without cameras. After explaining the UFC denied his fight request, Strickland took some time in the previously mentioned YouTube video to offer ‘The Problem Child’ an opportunity to meet him in Las Vegas:
“Jake Paul is an influencer, he influences, he sells to children, children don’t buy pay-per-views. Get some adults to follow you and then we will fight. So, here’s the thing Jake Paul, you clearly know I can’t fight you. We know this, the UFC knows this, we all know this that you and me can’t fight. What we can do, you can get in your fancy plane, you can fly your a*s to Vegas, and we could have a little powwow. You know as well as I know what happens in that. 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.”
It’s unclear what’s next for Sean Strickland inside the Octagon. On January 20, Strickland was dethroned of his UFC middleweight title due to a split-decision loss against Dricus du Plessis. There have been calls for an instant rematch, but the UFC could be going in a different direction for Du Plessis’ first title defense.
Watch Strickland’s YouTube video talking about Jake Paul and more below:
