Jorge Masvidal defends Sean Strickland: Boxing Jake Paul 'shouldn't even be an option'

Jorge Masvidal says UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland shouldn't be in a spot where he's disputing his pay.

Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) didn't hold back when airing his grievances about fighter pay as he negotiates his upcoming title defense against Nassourdine Imavov . Strickland even said he's contemplating fighting out his contract and going to box Jake Paul.

Masvidal, who's still under UFC contract, says a star of Strickland's magnitude has to be compensated well.

"It hurts me to hear that, truly," Masvidal told Home of Fight . "Goodness, we're at a good place. We're getting $1.3 billion a year. Why can you not pay this guy? He's not maybe the biggest star in the company, but he's top three. Sean is talked about everywhere, and maybe there's somebody that gets a wider audience like Ilia (Topuria) or (Justin) Gaethje after their fight, but I don't think even those guys have the cult-like following that Sean has. Sean has people – they ride for Sean, and it's a lot of them.

"He's got his own cult, and he's a force in the sport. When he starts opening up and blabbing, he always gets all the headlines. Super controversial guy, super fun to watch, happens to be the current world champion. Why is he complaining about pay? I'm always going to be for the fighter's side, and pay these guys more, UFC. I don't want to hear this guy complaining. It shouldn't even be an option for him to go box Jake f*cking Paul."

With Strickland dethroning Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev in big underdog title wins, Masvidal says the champion has proven worthy in and out of the octagon.

"When I think about the amount of views and headlines this guy generates, I would say he's worth that $10 million," Masvidal said. "Maybe it's the UFC so they don't want to pay that $10 million, they're trying to give him $2-3 million – I have no idea. But he's definitely worth several millions of dollars. Every time this guy fights, he just grabs up every headline. It's kind of like the world stops for him a little bit because he's had these super underdog moments."