Cormier backs Strickland in UFC pay dispute

The UFC Hall of Famer supports Strickland and weighs in on a potential rematch with Imavov.

Daniel Cormier has weighed in on the minor spat between UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and the UFC.

Recently, Sean Strickland took to social media to vent his frustration over the proposed purse for his planned title defense against Nassourdine Imavov, as he believes the UFC is offering him far too little money. Surprisingly, Cormier, who works for the UFC, is standing behind him, as he certainly doesn’t want to see one of the UFC’s biggest stars leave the organization.

“I don’t know what that number is. He seems pretty fed up, or he’s publicly negotiating. You can always take it one or two ways because we don’t want to see Sean Strickland go. No matter what you feel about Sean Strickland, the character, the personality, the person that says all the wild things, the one thing you have to respect is how great a fighter he is and how unexpected his run to becoming two-time UFC champion has been. You remember where the kid started, you remember where he came from, and now you’ve got to view what he's built, and have to appreciate that if you love mixed martial arts”

he said.

He also went on to discuss the upcoming bout between Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov. He said that he actually considers the bout a threat to the current titleholder, since he thinks Nassourdine Imavov could be a very tough opponent here.

All in all, it’s a pretty good insight, since he’s one of the people who could actually make a difference within the promotion. Maybe this is the beginning of a turning point where the purses for UFC fights will actually start to rise. What do you think?