UFC champ leaks unseen training footage against hated rival

Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland

Khamzat Chimaev is breaking one of MMA’s unwritten rules just days away from his title fight with Sean Strickland at UFC 328.

On Tuesday, the middleweight champion released a short clip of a past sparring session with Strickland, the man who challenges him for the 185-pound belt in Saturday’s main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Chimaev and Strickland have offered differing accounts of their time training together, with Strickland claiming he made Chimaev “quit” and Chimaev reminding Strickland that he just dominated Dricus du Plessis, the former champion who holds two wins over Strickland.

Watch the unseen Chimaev-Strickland footage below.

“I am bullying weak people,” Chimaev wrote in an accompanying capion.

Chimaev’s clip shows him being on the offensive for the most part, but other than that it’s nowhere near as conclusive or dramatic as either fighter has suggested. It’s unclear why Chimaev chose to release this footage, which lasts less than 30 seconds and is mostly harmless.

Perhaps Chimaev is just trying to alter a UFC 328 grudge match narrative that has revolved around him and Strickland making numerous threats of outside-of-the-cage violence should they run into each other before fight night. Both fighters spoke to reporters Tuesday, with Strickland calling Chimaev “a f*cking coward” and Chimaev actually encouraging Strickland to continue the war of words to further hype their contest.

All will be decided Saturday as Chimaev looks to remain undefeated and record his first UFC title defense, while Strickland has the chance to join Israel Adesanya as the only two-time middleweight champions in UFC history.