The UFC stopped Sean Strickland from accepting Jake Paul’s $1 million challenge to fight him in Puerto Rico.
Paul laid down the offer after footage of the former middleweight world champion pummeling Rumble streamer Sneako spread across social media. ‘The Problem Child’ dubbed Strickland a “bully” and delivered the challenge on X. Unsurprisingly, ‘Tarzan’ responded with a quasi-death threat, but as it turns out, Strickland actually reached out to the UFC to see if he could get the go-ahead.
“So Jake Paul offered me a million dollars, knowing it is impossible for me to do that,” Strickland explained on his YouTube channel. “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?’
“Hunter explained to me that [Paul] sells no fights. When they have fights, they give away tickets. He doesn’t make money. His target audience is children. They don’t buy pay-per-views.
“So a little depressing, because I thought to myself, you know what? I’ll take a payday beating up this f*cking man. That sounds easy enough. But sadly, Jake Paul is an influencer. He sells to children. Children don’t buy pay-per-views. F*ck, I don’t know man, get some adults to follow you, and then we will fight.”
UFC contracts are known to be quite restrictive, requiring fighters to get permission for any type of combat sports-related activities that occur outside of the Octagon. As a result, Strickland offered Paul the option to meet mono-e-mono far away from the spotlights and grand stages.
“Here’s the thing Jake Paul, you clearly know I can’t fight you,” Strickland said. “We know this. The UFC knows this. We all know this, that me and you cannot fight. But what we can do — you can get in your fancy plane, you can fly your ass to Vegas, and we can have a little pow-wow. Because you know as well as I know what happens with that.
“I’ll do it for free. I don’t need a check. I don’t need to livestream it. I will do it for free, sir. So if that is something you want, you want to show everyone how big and hard that d*ck is, let me know when.”
With nothing to gain financially, don’t expect Jake Paul to accept Strickland’s offer. ‘Tarzan’ likely knows that, but it didn’t stop him from taking a parting shot at the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
“Jake Paul, I got knocked out by a world champion kickboxer — a two-time UFC champion,” Strickland said, referencing his past fight with Alex Pereira. “You got beat by a part-time boxer [Tommy Fury] you used to try and pad your record.
“You’re an embarrassment to yourself. You’re an embarrassment to me, and you’re an embarrassment to the world. Enjoy” (h/t MMA Fighting).