NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Khamzat Chimaev welcomes Sean Strickland to confront him face-to-face now that he’s in the U.S.
Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC), who spent time training with Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) several years ago at Xtreme Couture, went off on him by accusing him of picking on weaker guys at the gym.
“Chimaev is just a f*cking c*nt,” Strickland told Red Corner MMA. “I was here when he retired from COVID. I was training with him. He’s just a f*cking c*nt. There are guys if you knew on a personal level, you wouldn’t like. Chimaev is one of these people if you knew, you wouldn’t like.
“There’s a video of me, and I was like, ‘Oh, you’re so good.’ I’m being sarcastic. You go and f*cking starch this 1-1 guy, when there’s like Edmen (Shahbazyan), there’s high-level UFC fighters, and you’re picking the 1-1 fighter because you think he’s the same height as your opponent. No, you’re picking him because you’re a b*tch, dude. He can fight, but mentally, he’s just a weak man.”
Ahead of his title fight against middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) on Aug. 16 in the UFC 319 headliner from United Center in Chicago, Chimaev responded to Strickland’s comments.
“When I was there, he never said anything,” Chimaev told reporters of Strickland at a media day. “When I left Las Vegas, when they stopped my visa, he started to talk. When I came back, I’m in L.A., bro. Come on. If it’s something personal for you, just come. I’m here. Whenever he wants.”
