Sean Strickland is on the warpath again and this time, he is thinking hard about leaving the UFC.

Strickland has been banging the UFC fighter pay for awhile now, but recently on social media he openly floated leaving the company after watching fighters like Conor McGregor collect big bank for small performances.

“I gotta be honest unless things change with the UFC Im kinda over it,” Strickland tweeted. “McGregor makes 30 million to fight for 30 second and they dont want to pay us a fraction of it. Contemplating just going to 205 knocking out my contract and scrapping with @jakepaul”

Whether Strickland is actually serious about taking such a stand is one thing as he likely makes one of the better salaries on the roster.

Being able to move the UFC needle remains one of the requirements to enter the fighter pay conversation.

Its just hard McGregor 30 million
Some lame boxer 15 million

The thought of just giving up my belt going to 205 and speed running my contract to fight Jake and make what these guys are making sounds pretty damn appealing

— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) October 7, 2026

“When you’re a fighter, you’re so f*cking poor,” Strickland previously said. “Even in the UFC. UFC guys, they’re signing guys at like, 10 and 10, [$10,000] to show, ($10,000) to win, $20 grand. So then you pay off your manager, you pay taxes; if you lose, you only get like eight, seven grand.

“Now, say you go get injured or get locked out. The UFC is f*cking brutal. The UFC is so f*cking predatory. This is why you see a lot of foreigners excel, because guys in Brazil that live in the f*cking favelas, $10 grand to them, that’s f*cking life-changing. I have buddies that go and live in Dagestan or Brazil, and they go back and live like a f*cking king. Like bro, you can’t even pay rent for a couple months here.

“So the UFC is so f*cking predatory pay. Like, I’m happy. I make good money. But only the very top guys are making money.”

The UFC has doubled the bonuses for events since signing the seven year $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ that began in 2026. They even added $25,000 finish bonuses as well.

But to many, including Strickland, the current UFC pay structure is the same as it ever was.