SUMMARY
- Sean Strickland is frustrated with UFC 297 fights.
- UFC 297 looks lot less impressive compared to upcoming UFC PPVs.
UFC 297 features a highly anticipated middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. The heated rivalry between the two certainly helped generate record-breaking numbers for the first UFC PPV of 2024.
UFC 297 broke the Canadian live gate record with a $7.6 million gate and 18,100 attendees. However, Sean Strickland is not expecting UFC 297 to sell a lot of PPVs.
In a recent podcast with Chris Curtis, Sean Strickland expressed his frustration with UFC 297 fights. He even predicted that UFC 297 was not going to make him a lot of money, despite PPV points.
‼️ BREAKING ‼️
Sean Strickland is furious with the UFC for not stacking his PPV like they did for the cuck Sean O’Malley #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/lsaMXbsHRE
— Mᴀʀᴛʏs Hᴀɪʀʟɪɴᴇ (@MmaUnderdogs) January 20, 2024
Strickland stated, “I am gonna make no money on this f*cking fight card. They gave me PPV points. This is the f*cking fight card.”
“Hey UFC, are you guys trying to f*ck me, dude? Are you guys trying to not make me money?” the middleweight champion continued.
The fight against Dricus du Plessis is the first title defense for Sean Strickland. And this is the first time he will be earning PPV points in his UFC career.
Are Sean Strickland’s accusations valid?
Besides Sean Strickland, some notable UFC fighters will be competing at UFC 297. In the main card, Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev is a fight that you don’t want to miss.
Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will decide the fate of the UFC female bantamweight division. Mike Malott is an exciting Canadian prospect who is capable of delivering exciting fights. However, these are not going to sell an insane number of PPVs.
Apart from the main event and co-main event, there are not a lot of fights on the card that have direct implications for a potential title shot in the near future. When you compare UFC 297 to upcoming PPVs (UFC 298, 299 and 300), it’s hard to deny Sean Strickland’s accusations.
Sean Strickland’s estimated payout for UFC 297
Though the official UFC 297 payout figures are not out, Sean Strickland is reportedly set to earn the biggest fight purse of his career. As per reports by Sportsdaily, Sean Strickland’s estimated fight purse for UFC 297 is $542,000, which includes a base pay of $500,000 and an incentive of $42,000.
The talking is over! 👀
Sean Strickland vs Dricus du Plessis at #UFC297 tonight!! pic.twitter.com/vVZe2glo1Z
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 20, 2024
Besides that, Sean Strickland is expected to earn a significant bonus for the PPV buys. Even if UFC 297 is not as stacked as the next few UFC PPVs, the rivalry between Strickland and du Plessis has made this a must-see event for MMA fans. So it won’t be surprising to see UFC 297 sell more PPVs than some of the past few UFC events in recent history.