Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland have escalated their rivalry ahead of UFC 328, with threats and physical confrontations occurring at press events. The situation has intensified as the fight approaches, raising interest in their matchup.
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 07: (L-R) Opponents Khamzat Chimaev of Russia and Sean Strickland face off during the UFC 328 press conference at Prudential Center on May 07, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
Itâs not every day a UFC fighter threatens to shoot another Octagon combatant.
With UFC 328 just hours away, how did we get to the point that Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland are openly threatening one another and throwing kicks at face-offs? This is a very high-level matchup and interesting style clash that would surely draw well already, yet it feels like the feud is only ramping up further as the bout approaches.
Before the Middleweights actually throw down with gold on the line, letâs establish a timeline and explain how this beef began in the first place.
In 2022, Khamzat Chimaev and his Smesh Bro Darren Till visited Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture, Sean Stricklandâs primary gym. At the time, Chimaev was still a Welterweight contender, at UFC 279. When the two were competing in different divisions, they were willing to train together and seemed friendly enough.
The feud began with escalating tensions during press events, including threats and physical confrontations.
The fight is scheduled for UFC 328, which takes place shortly after the recent press conference on May 7, 2026.
Sean Strickland threatened to shoot Khamzat Chimaev's entourage during a heated exchange at a press conference.
The escalating rivalry has significantly increased fan interest in their upcoming fight, making it a highly anticipated matchup.
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âBe nice,â Strickland told Chimaev. âKhamzat, understand youâre better than everybody, so just donât hurt people.â
Who got the better of those sparring sessions remains a topic of debate to this day.
In the fall of 2023, Sean Strickland was UFC champion, while both Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis were angling for a shot at Dricus du Plessisâ Middleweight crown. At UFC 294, Chimaev picked up a close majority decision win over a very short-notice Kamaru Usman in one of the toughest tests of his career. Strickland was not impressed by the win and argued that Chimaevâs Welterweight success shouldnât equal a Middleweight title fight.
âThe only thing I like about Chimaev is that he sells fights,â Strickland said. âFor some reason, people fâing like him or donât like him. I donât know. To me, heâs a fâing paycheck. He sells a lot of fights. People pay to watch, but he fâing hasnât earned it. He doesnât fâing deserve it, but here we are.â
A month later, UFC snubbed Chimaev and awarded du Plessis the shot at UFC 297.
UFC 293: Adesanya v Strickland
The feud began to escalate when stories of the sparring session emerges.
At first, rumors claimed that Welterweight âBorzâ dominated the top Middleweight contender in their 2022 training sessions. Stricklandâs coach denied that narrative, and Strickland himself claimed to have gotten the better of Khamzat. No video was released at the time, but both fighters insisted they were the better man in the training room.
âHe said he beat me in sparring,â Chimaev said in July 2024. âBut there were a lot of guys around who saw me choking him and beating him up. It was even recorded on camera. So, we also have some unfinished business. It would be good to see whoâs better inside the Octagon.â
Ahead of the du Plessis vs. Strickland rematch at UFC 312, the beef between Strickland and Chimaev really started to heat up. On social media, Chimaev made fun of Strickland for his emotional appearance on the Theo Von podcast (watch it), where Strickland discussed his abusive upbringing.
âWhy are you baby crying all the time?â Chimaev tweeted above a picture from 2011 of Strickland with his dad. âFather didnât give you love or he showed his love to you too much?â
Strickland went ballistic in response. He went after Chimaevâs fancy new United Arab Emirates passport and relationship with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadryov.
âHereâs the thing, my dad did hit me with some beer bottles once or twice lmao,â Strickland replied. âI will admit it, made me the man I am today ⊠but I guarantee this little wâre sucked off Kadyrov ⊠obviously not good enough because you had to flee your country.â
This would not be the last time Strickland attacked Chimaevâs relationship with Kadryov, and Chimaev brought up Stricklandâs abusive father just last week! Alongside the gym drama, these are the two primary motifs of their feud.
In February 2026, Strickland trashed Chimaev for failing to defend his belt following his August 2025 victory over du Plessis. Again referencing Kadyrov, Strickland argued that âBorzâ has no motivation to bother defending his belt because of his financial backing.
âItâs kinda weird what the UFC did with Chimaev,â Strickland said. âYou brought a guy in that fights once a year whoâs like Madonna, who gets like, how much money does that dictator give him under the table? Like, the guy doesnât need to fight, dude. Heâs best friends with a warlord. He doesnât need to fight. Dude gets gifted G-Wagons.â
âSo you have somebody who is just gonna sit on a belt and wait and wait until they force him to fight. They wanted him to fight Nassourdine [Imavov], whatever the guyâs name is. Heâs like, âOh, I donât wanna fight you, my brother.â Like, what are you talking about? Itâs not how the sport works, dude. Like, go fight that guy!â
One month later, Khamzat vs. Strickland was official for UFC 328.
In the couple months since the matchup was booked, the big concern has been violence expanding outside of the Octagon. Even UFC CEO Dana White admitted that extra security was needed to keep the duo apart and ensure the fight could play out as planned!
Strickland, naturally, did very little to calm the situation. When he was in the same part of southern California as the champion, he dropped his location and invited a street fight. Khamzat pointed out that Strickland was all alone and susceptible to getting jumped by the massive âBorzâ entourage, and Strickland answered simply that he would shoot them.
âAll Iâm gonna do, Iâll pull my gun out of my shoe,â Strickland replied. âIf [Chimaev] were to come up to me like a man and say, âYou know what, Sean? You said some things about my dad [Ramzan] Kadyrov.â And Iâm like, well you know what dude? You whâed yourself out, not me. âI wanna settle this.â I would say, âLetâs settle this like men.
âBut if you come up to me with three fâking Chechens that donât speak English, Iâm gonna pull my gun and Iâm gonna shoot each and every one of you,â he added.
Fortunately, no shots have been fired. At the UFC 328 pre-fight presser, Khamzat did manage to land a cowardly kick to the nuts, which is currently the extent off the pre-fight action. For further fisticuffs, weâll (hopefully) have to wait until the main event gets started later tonight.