In an interview with Adam Zubairaev, Khamzat Chimaev addressed questions about whether he would refuse to release a submission hold on Sean Strickland in their upcoming fight. When asked if security would have to pull him off Strickland, Chimaev joked that he doesn't want to kill anyone because it's haram (forbidden in Islam). He clarified that while he's not planning to kill Strickland, in the cage it's a sport and officials wouldn't allow him to do so anyway. Chimaev contrasted this with a street fight, where there would be no one to intervene.
Khamzat Chimaev offered a characteristically blunt — and darkly comic — response this week when asked how far he plans to go against Sean Strickland in their upcoming middleweight clash, joking that killing his opponent is off the table because it is haram, meaning forbidden under Islamic law.
Speaking in an interview with Adam Zubairaev, Chimaev was pressed on whether security would need to physically drag him off Strickland once he locks in a submission. The Borz acknowledged the intensity of the question but framed his restraint in religious terms, adding that the sport has officials for exactly that reason. He also noted, with little subtlety, that a street fight would be an entirely different matter with no one around to intervene.
Chimaev, 32, enters the fight as the number-one ranked middleweight and sits tenth on the pound-for-pound list. The UAE-based Allstars Training Center product carries a 15-1 record and brings an elite grappling game to the cage, averaging 5.29 takedowns per fifteen minutes alongside 1.8 submission attempts in the same span. His striking accuracy of 60 percent is among the sharpest in the division.
Standing across from him will be Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion. The 35-year-old American out of Xtreme Couture holds a 31-7 record and is one of the highest-volume strikers in the weight class, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute with a reach of 76 inches.
Why it matters
- The matchup pits the division's top-ranked contender against its reigning champion, with the middleweight title directly on the line.
- Chimaev's elite takedown volume and submission threat contrast sharply with Strickland's output-heavy striking style, creating a clear stylistic collision.
- Chimaev's comments, however tongue-in-cheek, underscore the personal edge both men have brought to the buildup.
