Strickland spent day in Newport Beach near Chimaev's gym, hoped for confrontation

Sean Strickland was in Newport Beach, California, the same city where Khamzat Chimaev is currently training. Strickland tagged his location throughout the day on social media, hoping to encounter Chimaev's team after seeing comments that Chimaev had threatened to try to kill him on the street. Strickland stated he was only ten minutes from Chimaev's gym and knew that fighters training with Chimaev follow him on social media and would have seen his location tags. He expressed disappointment that Chimaev did not show up, stating he is "the last guy in America" Chimaev should be calling out. Strickland's posts suggest he was deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation.