"WE ARE UNDERPAID": BRENDAN ALLEN BACKS STRICKLAND — THEN APOLOGIZES TO THE UFC
“Hats off to Sean for speaking up, for trying to get more money, because if you look at the scope of things based on the statistics that are out there, we are underpaid.”
Allen backed the champ's pay fight at UFC Vegas 122 — then told the bosses he didn't mean it. Plus: Dricus "took the easier fight."
"You'll never hear me b—- about my pay, but I'd love to have more money."
Brendan Allen said the quiet part out loud on Saturday night. Then he spent the rest of the press conference trying to take it back.
Moments after choking out Christian Leroy Duncan in the UFC Vegas 122 main event, the No. 5 middleweight was asked about Sean Strickland's standoff with the UFC. Allen did not dodge. He backed the champion — then apologized to the bosses in the same breath.
The belt is frozen. The champ is holding out. And the division's hottest contender just told the world the fighters are underpaid — while begging not to get canceled.
THE BACKING
Strickland wants more money before he defends his middleweight belt against Nassourdine Imavov. Reports say the UFC offered him $400,000 to show and $400,000 to win. He wants more.
The champ has floated everything: vacating the title, moving up to light heavyweight, fighting out his contract, even boxing. The division is on hold while he waits.
Allen understands the frustration. He just won't make the same stand himself.
"The guys that don't need to fight, that can speak up, and make those stances for money, God bless you. I wish I could do that. I'm just a dumb redneck from Louisiana. I'm happy with what I get paid."
Then came the line that will live forever.
"Hats off to Sean for speaking up, for trying to get more money, because if you look at the scope of things based on the statistics that are out there, we are underpaid." — Brendan Allen
THE APOLOGY
Allen said the thing. Then he apologized to UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell by name. In the same answer.
"I ain't trying to get canceled, at least from the bosses. I like my paycheck, f—. They know I like my paycheck. I need that s—. My car collection is still growing. My house is still going. I didn't mean nothing by it, Hunter [Campbell]. I apologize."
That is the fighter-pay debate in one exchange: everyone knows it, nobody can say it, and the ones who say it apologize immediately.
Allen's fear is math. He is 30, on a four-fight win streak, ranked No. 5 in the world. If a man in that position is scared to agree with the champion about pay, the power imbalance is the story. Strickland can hold out because he holds the belt. Allen can't, because he needs the next fight.
THE OTHER BEEF
And Allen was not done. He turned the same press conference into a war on two fronts — because Dricus du Plessis is still ducking him, in his words.
"Kamaru was an easier fight than me," Allen said of Du Plessis choosing to face Kamaru Usman in July instead of him. "I'm younger, hungrier, faster, and stronger. I think I'm technically better. I was the harder fight, so Dricus took the easier fight. He knows that."
The history: Du Plessis entered 2025 as middleweight champion, got dominated by Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 — his first loss in the Octagon — then bounced back against Usman in the UFC Oklahoma City main event. Allen has wanted the fight for years.
THE GRUDGE
On Paramount's post-fight show, Allen kept the pressure on Du Plessis, accusing him of taking the easier fights while Allen keeps winning.
Four straight wins: Vettori, De Ridder, Shahbazyan, Duncan. Both men sit inside the top five. The grudge match is the obvious next booking — and Allen is done asking politely.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
Saturday night gave us the full Brendan Allen: the finisher, the truth-teller, and the realist who knows what honesty costs in this business.
He backed the champ, apologized to the bosses, called out the ex-champ — all in one night. That is a man who knows his worth — and knows the system punishes honesty.
The No. 5 middleweight in the world just told the UFC, on the record, that the fighters are underpaid. Then he begged Hunter Campbell not to cancel him.
So here is the question: if a four-fight contender headlining UFC cards is afraid to agree with his own champion — who exactly is the pay system working for?
