Sean Strickland says the UFC played hardball with him at the negotiating table, using his middleweight title opportunity as the stick to get him to sign a new six fight deal. Both MiddleEasy and Bloody Elbow are reporting the claim, with Strickland telling fans he felt he would not get a crack at reclaiming the title unless he put pen to paper on terms he was not thrilled about.

The timing matters. Our Elo model has him at 1545 across nine tracked bouts, numbers that explain why the UFC had real leverage to use, a champion with a marketable rivalry still fresh off a five round split decision war is exactly the kind of fighter a promotion wants locked into a longer deal.

The pay gripe has pulled in outside voices. Daniel Cormier has defended Strickland in the dispute, saying he hopes the two sides find common ground rather than see the champion walk away from the promotion. Brendan Schaub also weighed in, sympathetic to Strickland's frustration over what he is making relative to his position in the sport, even if Schaub stopped short of fully backing every part of his complaint.

There is a boxing wrinkle too. Dana White brushed off Strickland's callout of boxer Jai Opetaia, instead floating a different big name as a more likely next opponent for Opetaia, a sign the promotion is not eager to help Strickland chase a crossover fight anytime soon.