Sean Strickland hints "cut-throat" UFC offer for last-minute fight that Paulo Costa claims he rejected

Sean Strickland has suggested that he was unsatisfied with the pay UFC supposedly offered him for a fight against Paulo Costa.

On The Coach and the Casual podcast, Costa recently claimed that Strickland turned down the opportunity to fight him. The Brazilian athlete noted that he's targeting a June return. The UFC 302 event is scheduled to transpire on June 1, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey, USA. Ergo, the UFC could book his (Costa's) return at UFC 302.

Costa indicated that he was open to a possible fight against Jared Cannonier. He added, however, that the UFC offered him a matchup against Sean Strickland instead. 'The Eraser' opined that while Strickland would be an even more fun matchup, the UFC informed him that the latter "refused" to fight him.

Strickland soon responded via Instagram Stories. The American fighter implied that he never declines fights. He also insinuated that monetary gain is his primary reason for accepting fights. 'Tarzan' wrote:

"I never say no ... I say 'how much' lol"

Furthermore, Sean Strickland posted multiple tweets addressing the same. One X user urged the 33-year-old to announce his next fight soon. The former UFC middleweight champion replied by indicating that he's currently in discussions with the UFC over his pay and hopes it gets sorted or things could get weird.

'Tarzan' asked netizens to guess how much he was offered to fight Costa on seven weeks' notice. Answering a fan who wrote 500k, Strickland emphasized that the UFC's proposal was way lower. Another fan speculated that perhaps the UFC was willing to hand him $200k to show, $200k to win, and a $10k fight week incentive.

Strickland tweeted by highlighting that the fan was close, but he asserted that the UFC's offer was lower. Moreover, replying to a fan who signaled that the proposal should've been $1 million at least, 'Tarzan' alluded to the ruthless business structure and allegedly low UFC pay. He tweeted:

"...lmao my man it's cut throat in here.. 99 percent of ufc fighters will never see a million their entire career"

Check out the screenshots of some of Strickland's tweets below:

Screenshots of tweets

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A closer look at Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa's recent runs

Sean Strickland has secured three victories and suffered two defeats in his last five MMA bouts inside the octagon. In his most recent fight, 'Tarzan' lost his UFC middleweight championship via split decision against Dricus du Plessis in Jan. 2024. UFC CEO Dana White asserted that an immediate title rematch against du Plessis is unlikely, albeit they could clash again someday.

Meanwhile, Paulo Costa has gone 2-3 in his past five fights. 'The Eraser' is coming off a unanimous decision defeat against Robert Whittaker in Feb. 2024. Presently, Sean Strickland holds the No.1 spot in the official UFC middleweight rankings while Costa stands at No. 7.

Neither Strickland nor Costa's respective next opponents and exact comeback dates have been officially announced as of yet.