Sean Strickland has already begun trash-talking the UFC middleweight champion.
Despite being below fellow contender Nassourdine Imavov in the rankings, Strickland will challenge Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 on May 9.
The American staked his claim for a second shot at regaining the title by getting the better of Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in February.
Strickland caused a stir with some of his remarks prior to that fight in Texas, and that is likely to be the case again in New Jersey.
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Sean Strickland insults Khamzat Chimaev while explaining UFC White House absence
Strickland is not waiting for fight week in Newark to start unloading on Chimaev.
The American’s fourth title fight in the promotion will come at the final numbered event before the UFC White House card on June 14.
Donald Trump promised “eight or nine” title fights on the lineup, but the event has fallen short of that with just two.
With that in mind, some may have been surprised not to see Strickland’s title challenge placed alongside Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje and Alex Pereira’s shot at three-division glory against Ciryl Gane.
In a recent post on Facebook, Strickland sought to explain why his clash with Chimaev is not on the lineup in Washington D.C.
“We’re not fighting at the White House. They don’t like terror*sts there,” Strickland wrote on Facebook.
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It’s not the first time Strickland has fired that insult at ‘Borz’. In 2024, he suggested Chimaev should not even be permitted to enter the United States owing to his connection to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.
In another recent post, the former middleweight champ appeared to reference the moment his mic was cut out during his press conference after UFC Houston.
“Don’t be scared this time Paramount+…don’t be scared,” he wrote.
Most recently, he uploaded an edited image of himself in the Oval Office with the UFC title on his shoulder.
Strickland had a brief stint on the middleweight throne after beating Israel Adesanya in one of the all-time biggest UFC title upsets in September 2023.
He was quickly unseated by Dricus du Plessis before failing to get revenge on the South African in their rematch early last…
2026-03-16 02:00:00
