Sean Strickland fires back after Khamzat Chimaev warning

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Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland’s rivalry has escalated significantly over the past week.

In just a bit over a week, Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland will face off for the middleweight title in the UFC 328 main event.

Although their relationship began positively when they trained together at Xtreme Couture, things have completely changed since then.

Recently, Chimaev made a comment about ambushing Strickland in the streets of New Jersey, which didn’t sit well with the former champion, who responded by saying he would shoot Chimaev.

Strickland responds after Chimaev issues threat ahead of UFC 328 clash

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

The rivalry between Chimaev and Strickland has grown so intense that Dana White has already voiced concerns, confirming plans for heightened security throughout fight week.

Chimaev then hit back, claiming he didn’t believe Strickland truly wanted a fight outside the Octagon and even went as far as to say that if he did, he would be ‘dead already’.

Things have only escalated further since then. Strickland has fired back again, calling ‘Borz’ a coward and doubling down on his earlier threats.

With his first title defence approaching, the Chechen champion has signaled that he doesn’t plan to stay at middleweight long-term. A move up to light heavyweight is something he’s seriously considering.

Carlos Ulberg is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines following a torn ACL suffered in his recent win over Jiri Prochazka. That’s opened up an opportunity for an interim title fight.

And Joe Rogan hasn’t wasted any time suggesting Chimaev face Paulo Costa in what would be a massive bout between two top contenders with plenty of history between them already.