Strickland Hits Out At Low Fighter Pay – ‘Fighting For Pesos, Utter Garbage’
During an exchange with Mike Perry, Sean Strickland hit out at the UFC’s lack of high pay.
The UFC has recently settled two class action lawsuits brought by ex-UFC fighters. A 2014 lawsuit alleged that the UFC had breached anti-trust laws in order to remove any competition. This allowed them to form a monopoly, which could then control how much fighters could make.
The case became known as ‘Le et al. vs Zuffa’ which saw approximately 1,200 fighters come together to take legal action. Cung Le, Nate Quarry and Kajan Johnson were the leading names, followed by Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez and Kyle Kingsbury. Another lawsuit was issued in 2021 by 2021 Kajan Johnson and C.B. Dollaway. A trial was going to take place on April 15. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed TKO had settled.
UFC Settlement
“On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits ([Cung] Le and [Kajan] Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time. The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes,” TKO Group Holdings said
The settlement terms have been agreed upon and filed in court. The UFC must pay approximately $100 million via an “an interest-bearing escrow account.” three days after the court approves it initially. Then, another $100 million must be given by November 1, 2024, at the latest. The final payment must be made by April 1, 2025. This will be paid out via a UFC Settlement Fund.
Despite that, Strickland felt UFC fighter pay was still an issue. Mike Perry left the UFC in 2021, losing four out of his last five fights. But since joining BKFC, Perry is undefeated, with a 5-0 record. His earnings in BKFC have exceeded his entire UFC earnings.
And yet, Strickland claimed that BKFC fighters earn less than UFC fighters. Strickland has also shown that he is not entirely happy after Paulo Costa claimed the former UFC Middleweight Champion rejected the fight first due to low pay. Now, Strickland and Perry exchanged verbals over pay.
Strickland On Pay
“Strickland, he’s fighting for the UFC for pesos, and I’m getting paid over here. He’s always posting videos on Instagram where he walks outside of his garage or his front door, and somebody is in his driveway and he’s trying to fight a bare knuckle for free right there. What are you talking about Sean?” Perry
“UFC pay is utter garbage. lol their [sic] signing guys at 10/10 that should be criminal … but the vast majority of BKFC fighters are getting paid way less than that … As a ufc fighter I advocate for better pay for me and the entire roster … You should do the same for your guys.
“While I’m on my soap box from a poor man who became kinda a rich man once you have capital it just snow balls. These elites could probably never take a paycheck again and easily make 500k a year. Yet they still line their bank accounts with millions that they will never need or spend. In all industries,” Strickland stated
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