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Sean Strickland is aiming to fight Jake Paul, likely in a boxing match. That is, at least, according to the comments he made during a recent appearance he made on Adin Ross' Kick stream. The former UFC middleweight champion claimed his motivation was the pay disparity between his career as an MMA fighter and the kind of money Paul earns.
Strickland believes that just one fight with Paul would eclipse his total career earnings as a UFC fighter. It's a stunning statement given that Strickland isn't just a former middleweight champion, but one of the more high-profile fighters on the roster due to his penchant for trash talk. He said:
"I need to go f*cking beat up Jake Paul. Bro, I'll make more money f*cking up Jake Paul than in my entire UFC career. How f*cked up is that?"
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Check out Sean Strickland calling for a fight with Jake Paul:
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Strickland is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss to reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, which was their second encounter. Their first bout had taken place at UFC 297, where the South African star dethroned him as middleweight king.
With two losses to 'Stillknocks,' it is unlikely that Strickland will ever fight for middleweight gold again until du Plessis loses. A boxing match with Paul would be an interesting detour for him, but it is improbable. Strickland is currently under contract with the UFC, and there's very little chance he'll be greenlit to box.
Sean Strickland also called out Belal Muhammad
The animosity between Sean Strickland and Belal Muhammad is well-documented, and both men have taken to X/Twitter to aim trash talk at each other. In recent weeks following Muhammad's welterweight title loss to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, 'Tarzan' said the following in a Helen Yee interview:
"I mean, Belal would be a fun fight. That would be a fun one. Belal, you f*cking s*ck up, dog. You can finally s*ck up, dude. All that sh*t you talk, man. We can finally make it happen. You lost your belt, you kind of got f*cked up. I got f*cked up. We should make that fight happen, Belal."
Check out Sean Strickland calling out Belal Muhammad (29:17):
Unfortunately for Strickland, the interest isn't mutual, as Muhammad is more focused on recapturing his welterweight belt, regardless of who is holding it.
