Brendan Schaub Says Sean Strickland Has Nothing Left to Prove
Brendan Schaub is with Sean Strickland on the holdout, and he does not think an Nassourdine Imavov rematch is worth staying for.
On Big Brown Breakdown, the former UFC heavyweight argued that the middleweight champion has already reached the top and is being asked to risk it for a fight that does nothing for him. Strickland is 31-7, a two-time champion, and still unsigned for his next defense after money talks pushed the bout off UFC 335.
“He’s made it to the top of the mountain,” Schaub said. “All I can do now is get kicked off of it.”
He treated the résumé as closed. “Like, his legacy’s pretty cemented. He’s beat Izzy, he’s beat Khamzat.”
Those wins are the ones that built the argument. Strickland took the belt from Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, lost it, missed the rematch, and won it back from Khamzat Chimaev by split decision at UFC 328 on May 9.
Schaub then dismissed the man waiting in front of him. “Imovov does nothing for him. They’re not, they’re paying him sh*t.”
Reports have put the UFC offer near $400,000 to show and $400,000 to win, the number attached to the stalled January talks. Imavov answered on October 5 by offering $500,000 of his own money if Strickland beats him, then told the UFC to strip the champion if he still refused.
Schaub did not see a better path inside the division. “What else is left? Hang around, hopefully Hamzat gets another rematch, so he beat him twice, maybe.”
“There’s not a lot going on there for him. You’re at the top of the mountain.”
He also pointed at money Strickland has already made outside the cage. “You made a boatload of money off your gambling deal.” Strickland joined Team Rainbet in August, a sportsbook partnership Schaub treated as proof the champion is not fighting for rent.
“I’m with him. He’s smart with his money.”
“You know, it’s not like he’s some of these other fighters who are scrambling, they need the paydays. So he’s kinda like, why am I doing this?”
That is the same question Strickland has been asking in public. On October 8 he wrote that unless things change with the UFC he is “kinda over it,” and added, “I haven’t decided if I want to nuke my contract but I gotta say man putting hands on Jake Paul sounds way better than the UFC right now.”
Schaub went further and put the exit in Strickland’s mouth. “Boxing, hey, Jake Paul, if you wanna get these hands, it’s such an easier job. I’ve told you this guy, this for a long time.”
“Boxing’s way easier than MMA. All I have to do is box, take my, and I make more money doing that.”
He finished the thought as a plan, then labeled it a guess. “I’m down to just get rid of this UFC thing, fight Jake Paul, and right off the sunset with my wife, hopefully have kids. That’s what, hopefully he’s thinking.”
Jake Paul has already told Strickland to call Most Valuable Promotions. The champion has also said he would drop to finish his deal at 205 pounds, or go to Zuffa Boxing and chase a cruiserweight title, if the UFC will not clear a boxing run.
Imavov is not waiting quietly. Footage from the UFC Performance Institute showed him asking Strickland why the contract was unsigned and saying he had money to give. Strickland called the approach “cringe” and said Imavov’s team already knew the training schedule.
The belt is still in Anaheim, UFC 335 on December 12 is already booked without a middleweight title fight, and Schaub’s read is that Strickland can afford to keep saying no. Whether that ends in a signed rematch, a vacated belt, or a call to Paul is the part neither man has settled.
