Sean Strickland was in Newport Beach, California, where Khamzat Chimaev is currently training. Throughout the day, Strickland tagged his location on social media stories, hoping to meet up with Chimaev's team. He called out Chimaev's earlier comment about trying to kill him on the street, stating he was only ten minutes from Chimaev's gym and that people who train with Chimaev are following him and would have seen his posts. Strickland said he expected Chimaev to show up but he never did. He added that he is the last guy in America Chimaev should be messing with.
Sean Strickland spent time in Newport Beach, California on April 19, making no secret of his whereabouts as Khamzat Chimaev was reported to be training in the same area. Throughout the day, the middleweight champion tagged his location repeatedly on social media, making clear he was looking to cross paths with Chimaev's camp.
Strickland, 35, carries a 31-7-0 record and holds the UFC middleweight title out of Xtreme Couture. Standing six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach, the Orthodox southpaw lands an aggressive 6.04 significant strikes per minute. He fired back directly at a recent comment from Chimaev about trying to kill him on the street, noting he was only ten minutes from Chimaev's gym and that members of Chimaev's team follow him on social media and would have seen every post. Strickland said he expected Chimaev to show up. He never did. Strickland closed by saying he is the last man in America Chimaev should be targeting with that kind of talk.
Chimaev, 32 and ranked first in the middleweight division as well as tenth pound-for-pound, carries a 15-1-0 record fighting out of Allstars Training Center. The six-foot-two Borz owns a 60 percent striking accuracy and averages a punishing 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes, making him one of the most complete grapplers in the weight class.
Why it matters
- Strickland holds the middleweight title; Chimaev is the division's top-ranked contender, putting a potential clash at the top of the divisional picture.
- The confrontation escalates an already personal rivalry, with Strickland directly challenging Chimaev to back up street-fight rhetoric in person.
- A grappling-heavy Chimaev against a high-volume striker in Strickland presents one of the more compelling stylistic contrasts available at 185 pounds.
