Sean Strickland's public campaign for better UFC pay is picking up allies. MiddleEasy reports that Mike Heck backs the middleweight champion's stance, though Heck also notes the promotion still has other options for its title plans even if Strickland keeps pushing the issue.

The pay fight is tangled up with another storyline: Strickland's recent walk away from a confrontation with Nassourdine Imavov at the UFC Performance Institute. Michael Bisping defended that decision in commentary dated October eight, arguing that as champion, Strickland's real job is defending the title, not trading words in a hallway.

Daniel Cormier sees a method behind Imavov's approach. He suggested the confrontation is Imavov following the same script Strickland once used himself, stirring up attention to build toward a rematch, even with the pay questions still hanging over the whole situation.

Not everyone thinks Strickland's stand will change much beyond his own bank account. A Sherdog opinion piece argues his public pressure campaign could land him a better deal personally, but without the kind of unity fighters have historically failed to muster, it probably will not move the needle for the roster at large.

The numbers add some context to why Imavov is motivated to make noise. He sits at number three in the middleweight rankings, and our Elo model actually has him rated higher than the champion, 1584 built from six bouts compared to Strickland's 1545 across nine. Whether the pay dispute or the Imavov tension resolves first, both threads are shaping how the middleweight picture moves next.