In an interview with Adam Zubayraev, Khamzat Chimaev addressed fan speculation about his upcoming fight with Sean Strickland. When asked if security would need to separate them if he got Strickland in a submission, Chimaev laughed and said he doesn't want to kill someone because it's haram (forbidden in Islam). Chimaev clarified that he's not planning to kill Strickland, joking that officials wouldn't allow it anyway. He noted that on the street it would be different, but inside the cage it's a sport.
Khamzat Chimaev has addressed fan speculation about how far he might take things against Sean Strickland, making clear in a recent interview that he has no intention of seriously harming the middleweight champion — because doing so would be haram, or forbidden under Islamic law.
Speaking with Adam Zubayraev, Chimaev laughed off a question about whether security would need to intervene if he locked Strickland in a submission. He said killing someone is not something he wants to do, and joked that officials inside the cage would never allow it to happen anyway. He did draw a distinction, noting that the situation would be different on the street — but inside the cage, it is a sport.
The comments come ahead of what shapes up as a significant middleweight title fight. Strickland, nicknamed "Tarzan," is 35 years old, fights out of Xtreme Couture, and carries a 31-7-0 record. The American champion stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and is one of the most active strikers in the division, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute.
Chimaev, known as "Borz," is the number-one ranked middleweight and sits tenth in the pound-for-pound rankings. The 32-year-old representing the United Arab Emirates holds a 15-1-0 record and trains out of Allstars Training Center. At six-foot-two with a reach of 75 inches, he averages 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and attempts submissions at a rate of 1.8 per 15 minutes — numbers that make the grappling scenario posed to him in the interview far from hypothetical.
Why it matters
- Chimaev's elite grappling output directly threatens Strickland's champion status if the fight hits the mat
- A title fight between the division's champion and its top-ranked contender carries clear stakes for the 185-pound picture
- The style contrast — Strickland's high-volume striking versus Chimaev's wrestling-heavy pressure — sets up one of the more compelling matchups in the weight class
