Dana White disputes Sean Strickland's claims about his UFC earnings and contract

UFC president Dana White has publicly pushed back on Sean Strickland's complaints about his UFC contract, insisting the fighter's claims about his earnings are inaccurate. White said Strickland signed a new deal in May and disputed the figure the middleweight says he was paid.

In his response, White took direct aim at the number Strickland has cited. "The number that he claimed he made isn't true," White said, according to the story. He also stressed that the fighter put pen to paper on a fresh contract in May, a point that cuts against the idea that Strickland was locked into terms he had no say in.

The fighter

Strickland, 35, is a 31-7-0 middleweight from the United States who trains out of Xtreme Couture. He is listed as the division's champion. An orthodox fighter who stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach, he is known for volume striking. He lands 6.04 significant strikes per minute at 42 percent accuracy. His grappling output is modest, with 0.71 takedowns and 0.2 submission attempts per 15 minutes.

The executive

White, 57, is the UFC president and the public face of the promotion's business side. He has no fighting record to speak of, and his role here is purely as the company's voice in a dispute over pay. His comments are a direct rebuttal of a fighter's account of his own earnings.

Why it matters

• Fighter pay remains one of the most sensitive topics in the sport, and a reigning champion questioning his contract draws wide attention.
• White's reference to a May signing frames the deal as a recent, agreed arrangement rather than a legacy contract.
• The two sides now offer conflicting versions of what Strickland earned, with no figures resolved publicly in White's remarks.

Strickland has built a reputation for blunt public comments, and this exchange adds to a long history of candid exchanges between UFC fighters and the promotion over compensation.