Sean Strickland’s UFC pay dispute has Ray Longo looking at the boxing business. The MMA coach believes the middleweight champion could chase a $15 million payday outside the Octagon, calling a switch to boxing a “no-brainer” given Strickland’s training habits and complaints about compensation.
Speaking on the Anik and Florian Podcast, Longo said he takes Strickland’s threats seriously. He described the champion as a “wacky dude” but said there is honesty behind his public comments. “Like, if he says he’s going to do something, I do believe he will do it, and I don’t think he’s a bullsh*t artist,” Longo said, before adding: “And, you know, let him go box for $15 million.”
Longo’s argument was about the paycheck and the preparation required to earn it. He questioned the optics of promoting boxing purses while UFC athletes spend their camps dealing with striking, wrestling and submissions. In his view, Strickland’s approach to training makes a boxing crossover worth considering.
“I think Strickland can go in there and box 12 rounds like it’s nothing,” Longo said. “He’s going to make money. He doesn’t have to get his knees cracked, his elbows… Fighting off chokes and takedowns.” That is Longo’s assessment of Strickland’s potential, rather than proof that a 12-round boxing assignment would be easy.
Sean Strickland vs. Jake Paul
The $15 million discussion comes as Strickland questions why he should keep defending a UFC championship under his current financial terms. He has pointed to Conor Benn’s reported $15 million agreement with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing and complained about the gap between his earnings and those of other combat-sports names.
Strickland has floated giving up his middleweight belt, moving to light heavyweight and completing his UFC contract before pursuing Jake Paul. He then escalated the dispute, writing: “I will not fight or sign any contract until I get this figured out.” No Strickland-Paul bout has been announced, and Strickland remains under UFC contract.
The standoff has already left Nassourdine Imavov waiting. Their anticipated title fight did not materialize for UFC 335, with compensation central to the public discussion. Imavov responded by offering $500,000 of his own money if Strickland beats him in January and asking the UFC to strip the champion if he refuses. That proposed rematch remains unannounced.
Strickland is allegedly seeking $1 million to defend his middleweight title against Nassourdine Imavov in January, compared with a claimed UFC offer of $400,000 to show and another $400,000 if he wins. Under that proposed structure, he would earn $800,000 for a victory, with half that amount guaranteed regardless of the result. Those figures originated in a claim on X that Imavov responded to with his own $500,000 challenge; neither Strickland nor the UFC has publicly confirmed the alleged purse terms.
