Jake Shields has come out in support of current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. The Californian native, who is no stranger to speaking out against the UFC (and its current owner, Ari Emanuel) says Sean Strickland’s pay is ‘disgusting’. Speaking on his Fight Back Podcast, former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields said:

“Sean Strickland is a superstar and the amount of money I’ve heard they are offering him is disgusting. It’s a joke. This man’s a two time champion, a star made by himself [and] they kicked him out of the White House show.”

Sean Strickland recently came out and expressed his (strong) opinions on UFC fighter pay and his desire to drop his middleweight belt and move over to boxing to earn the pay he wants (and has earned) with his profile being one of the biggest stars currently in the UFC.

Jake Shields sees the pattern of fighters wanting to go and box after seeing the likes of Conor Benn sign lucrative contracts with Zuffa Boxing whilst having far less star power than the likes of Sean Strickland.

You see this pattern of UFC fighters wanting to go box. A sport they don’t do, because there’s so much more money in boxing. People don’t even like boxing, but the fighters are like we want to box just so they can make some money”

As Zuffa Boxing continues to hand out huge contracts to boxing stars, expect to see more and more UFC fighters air their grievances.