The war of words between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev has escalated dramatically ahead of their UFC 328 title fight, with Strickland daring the undefeated middleweight champion to back up his street fight talk.

Strickland Responds to Chimaev’s Threat

The former middleweight champion gets his chance to regain the title when he fights Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, N.J. Chimaev said in a recent vlog that he’s not planning to hurt Strickland anymore than he has to when they meet in the octagon, but added: “Out on the street, that’s different—if he dies, he dies.”

Those comments made their way to Strickland, who responded on social media, telling Chimaev that since they were both training in California, they could have turned Chimaev’s hypothetical suggestion into reality.

“I generally don’t post my location or my whereabouts, I don’t really drop pins where I’m at, I just don’t like to,” Strickland said. “But I was on Instagram and some stupid shit popped up in my feed about Chimaev saying you try to fight me, you’ll kill me in the streets.

“Dude, I was, like, 10 minutes from your gym. I was dropping tags and locations all day on your Instagram. Your homies that train with you follow me, they were seeing my story. You had to know where I was at.”

Strickland Disappointed Chimaev Didn’t Show

Strickland spent his Saturday cruising around Newport Beach, California trying to lure Chimaev out onto the street. He expressed only slight disappointment that Chimaev didn’t follow up on his threats.

“Ten minutes from your gym, bro, I was probably right down the street with you,” Strickland said. “Part of me thought you’d show up, but as we all know with Costa, when he pulled your card, ‘Hold me back, hold me back.’ I’m like the last dude in America you should threaten, but I guess if you don’t show up, you don’t show up.”

History of Bad Blood

The pair have been trading barbs ever since an infamous sparring session four years ago, with both men claiming they got the better of the other. Strickland has also labelled Chimaev a “terrorist” and a “fucking coward” in the past, criticising the champion’s inactivity in the division.

Immediately after his recent win over Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, Strickland called out the middleweight king. “Chimaev probably gets off the bench. I’d like to piece that little Chechen whore,” Strickland said.

White Confirms Extra Security Measures

UFC boss Dana White has confirmed that additional security will be in place ahead of the showdown next month. White has already scrapped the newly introduced pre-fight Paramount face-off between the pair.

“I hope somebody told them [that isn’t happening],” White said. “Because that is the case. Because that is a fact.”

White plans to use extra security and police to keep them separated before the bout, including housing the fighters in separate hotels.

“No bullshit, we’re going to beef up security and law enforcement and everything,” White said. “All of it. Hotels, bumping into each other, all that [kind of stuff]. [We’re] definitely [putting them in separate hotels]. That’s definitely going to happen.”

Chimaev’s Title Defense

For Chimaev, the fight marks the first defense of the middleweight title since he captured the strap from Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 to claim the 185-pound belt. He remains undefeated as a pro at 15-0.

Pick Your Winners - Free UFC Comps!