Sean Strickland’s recent comments about bareknuckle boxing and fighter pay did not sit well with former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who claims he’s currently making more than Strickland does.
Strickland, who is easily one of the most outspoken members of the UFC roster today, will say just about anything to be controversial. The funny thing is that Strickland seems to believe the things that come out of his mouth. So when he recently claimed that bareknuckle boxing is “f—king trash” it caught the attention of Alvarez, who is currently competing under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner.
Alvarez, who once held the UFC’s 155-pound crown, is a true veteran of combat sports. “The Underground King” made a transition to bareknuckle boxing last year and turned in a 1-1 record over the course of two high-profile BKFC main events. In those two fights, Alvarez is claiming he made more than Strickland did.
“He said something like, called it a s—t promotion and that they pay like s—t and blah, blah, blah, and I’m like, ‘That’s ironic for a guy who just literally fought in UFC your entire life for nothing,’” Alvarez said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “You literally just got your little paycheck and you’re going to talk s—t on a promotion that is just starting.
“I thought it was cute of him to say something about payment, because he’s like, ‘They don’t get paid like us.’ He probably does well in the UFC, but I make more than Sean Strickland. I fight bare-knuckle.”
Strickland isn’t one of the highest-paid fighters on the UFC roster, but he’s probably doing really good for himself being a former champion with headlining ability. If Alvarez is in fact making more than Strickland is by competing under BKFC rule then he’s doing something right.
“He’s a complainer of pay, but he’s talking about all the promotions not paying,” Alvarez said. “Hey, motherf—ker, they pay, and they pay more than you’re getting paid, and you’re this famous, well-known — I don’t know how many followers he has and how famous he is, my son loves him so he’s a guy, he’s a UFC character, but he was talking s—t on Bare Knuckle. I’m like, don’t you say s—t about Bare Knuckle. We’re getting paid.”
With the recent backing of Conor McGregor it appears that BKFC is on the rise even more here in 2024. Maybe Alvarez is right about making more than Strickland, but well leave that up for discussion.