Sean Strickland details UFC’s obstruction of $1 million Jake Paul fight offer
Former UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has shed light on the MMA organization’s dismissal of any possibility of him facing Jake Paul after the YouTuber-turned-boxer proposed a $1 million sparring offer.
Since venturing into boxing, Jake Paul has targeted athletes from various disciplines. He’s verbally sparred with renowned boxers like Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, in addition to clashing with MMA stars Conor McGregor, Dana White, and Nate Diaz as he solidifies his boxing career with victories over former UFC competitors.
Recently, Paul engaged in a war of words with Sean Strickland after a sparring session where he defeated Sneako. Paul even extended a $1 million offer to the former UFC Middleweight champion to spar him ahead of his March 2 bout against Ryan Bourland. However, Strickland disclosed that the UFC intervened and prevented him from accepting the lucrative offer.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel on February 12, the 32-year-old, who has frequently sparred with Paul on social media, elaborated on why he won’t be facing the YouTuber-turned-boxer anytime soon, despite the substantial offer.
“Jake Paul offered me $1 million knowing it’s impossible for me to accept. I spoke with Hunter (UFC’s Chief Business Officer) about it. I said, Hunter, I’ll fight this man. You allowed Conor McGregor to fight Mayweather; this is an easier fight, easier money, can I do that? Hunter clarified to me that Jake Paul doesn’t draw viewers. 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,” Strickland revealed.
“It’s a bit disheartening because I thought, ‘I’ll take a payday beating up this man’, seems easy enough,” he added.
Strickland emphasized that while Paul is aware they can’t fight for money presently, he invited Paul to Las Vegas for a discussion.
“You know as well as I know, what happens in that,” Strickland remarked. “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. So if that’s something you want, you want to show everyone how big and hard that d*ck is, let me know when.”
Also Read, Anthony Fantano deems Kanye West’s “Vultures 1” album as “unreviewable trash.”
