Sean Strickland believes Khamzat Chimaev revealed his true character by sharing footage of their sparring session.
Strickland is set to challenge the reigning middleweight champion, Chimaev, in the main event of UFC 328 this Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Tensions between Strickland and Chimaev had been escalating long before UFC 328 was officially announced. With fight week now in full swing and both fighters continuing to exchange insults, Chimaev has seemingly intensified the animosity with a recent social media post.
On Tuesday, the undefeated fighter shared a 25-second clip from his widely discussed sparring session with Sean Strickland at the Xtreme Couture gym. This sparring encounter has been a frequent topic of contention between the two rivals, with both offering contrasting accounts and continuing to trade barbs.
The clip itself offered little beyond a few brief striking exchanges between the two fighters and the caption, “I am bullying weak people.” No grappling was shown, and the footage did not clearly indicate either fighter gaining a significant advantage.
Now, Sean Strickland feels the footage only confirmed his perception of Khamzat Chimaev.
Sean Strickland Lashes Out at Khamzat Chimaev After Sparring Footage Leaks Before UFC 328
During the UFC 328 media day, Sean Strickland addressed Khamzat Chimaev’s decision to release footage from their past training session shortly before their title clash. The former middleweight champion downplayed the clip, describing it as merely a light sparring round and stating he was unaware it was being filmed.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Strickland stated. “The guy’s just a little fu*king rat. Firstly, I didn’t know we were filming. Those were our warm-up rounds. You’re just a weak man. You’re just a weak, weak man. What’s the point? We were light sparring. I mean, my shorts were a bit questionable. They were from Amazon. It was a bad angle.”
The outspoken American also revealed that he only sparred with Chimaev once, despite multiple attempts to arrange further rounds. According to Strickland, Chimaev showed little interest in extending the session, which is why he believes their brief encounter has been overly sensationalized.
“We only sparred once, and it was like a three-round spar. I kept telling you this. When I go to a gym, I want to spar the best guy. I want to spar him, but he would always just go beat up the lower-level guys.”