Sean Strickland put a name on his complaints about UFC matchmaking, and it belongs to a man he says he considers a friend.
Speaking on the Shawn Ryan Show on Monday, the reigning middleweight champion singled out Sean Shelby, the matchmaker responsible for the bantamweight through welterweight divisions, while explaining how fighters get squeezed into accepting short-notice bouts.
There’s a [matchmaker] named Sean Shelby. Everybody hates dealing with him,” Strickland said. “I’m friends with him, but he was my [matchmaker] at welterweight. Dude, he was such a f*cking c*nt. I say this as a friend, Sean. You’re a nice guy, but everybody f*cking hates you.
The Bench
Strickland’s specific accusation is that inactivity gets used as leverage. Fighters who put on a dull performance, or who decline a late call, end up waiting.
This guy is so f*cking brutal. You could have a boring fight or something, and this motherf*cker will bench you for like eight months,” he said. “Or you could say, ‘Hey Sean, I want a fight.’ He’ll call you two weeks out from a fight, like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a fight for you.’ Dude, two weeks out.
He tied that directly to the money. Short-notice fights, by his account, are where the meaningful raises live.
The UFC, they love for you to take a short-notice fight,” Strickland said. “If the UFC calls you and they say, ‘Hey, you want to take a fight on five days’ notice?’ They will give you like, maybe a 30, 40, 50-grand pay bump. The UFC loves that s*it. Short-notice fights give you the biggest pay bumps.
Part Of A Broader Complaint
The Shelby comments came in the same conversation where Strickland called the promotion’s entry-level structure predatory and warned aspiring fighters about what a 10-and-10 contract actually leaves them once management fees and taxes come out.
Strickland has been among the loudest voices on fighter pay for years, and he has consistently paired the criticism with an acknowledgement that his own situation is comfortable. He won the middleweight title back at UFC 328 in May with a split decision over Khamzat Chimaev.
The UFC has not responded publicly to the comments.
