Sean Strickland changed his mind about fighting Jake Paul in a boxing match, and the former MMA champ disclosed that the UFC was part of this decision.
Strickland recently made the headlines after showing his impressive boxing skills by taking down streamer Sneako in a sparring match last weekend. This caught the attention of influencer-turned-boxer Paul, who seemed unimpressed with “Tarzan.” Strickland, despite not having professional boxing experience, agreed with the match but recently revoked the decision.
According to the MMA fighter, he talked with UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell to consult the match but was informed about Paul’s actual PPV capabilities. Ultimately, Strickland said this changed his mind.
“So Jake Paul offered me a million dollars to fight him, knowing it’s impossible for me to do that,” Strickland said on his YouTube channel. “And I actually talked to [UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell], and I was like ‘Hunter, I will fight this man. You let Conor McGregor fight Floyd Mayweather, this is an easier fight, easier money, can I do that?’. And Hunter explained to me: ‘He sells no fights. When they have fights, they give away tickets. He doesn’t make money and his target audience is children; they don’t buy pay-per-views.’”
Despite that, the fighter is not closing the doors for the Strickland vs. Paul fight. Yet, for the former champ, this would only happen if Paul could “get some adults” who could buy PPV and generate sales.
“So, a little depressing,” Strickland continued. “I wanted to take a big payday to fight this man; that seems easy enough. But sadly, Jake Paul is an influencer…he sells the children; children don’t buy pay-per-views…get some adults to follow you, and then we will fight. You clearly know I can’t fight you; we all know this. But what we can do, you get in your fancy plane, fly your ass to Las Vegas, and we can have a little ‘pow-wow.’ Because we all know what happens with that. I’ll do it for free, I don’t need a check, I don’t need to live stream it. I’ll do it for free, sir.”
