Chimaev dismisses O'Malley trash talk as circus act, cites behind-scenes respect

Khamzat Chimaev responded to Sean O'Malley's trash talk by comparing him to a circus clown, saying he finds it amusing rather than angering. Chimaev explained that when O'Malley's friends approached him in person, the bantamweight immediately changed his tone and said he was just promoting a fight. Chimaev stated he simply doesn't like fake people and views O'Malley's behavior as entertainment rather than genuine animosity. Separately, Artem Vakhitov, who is helping Ciryl Gane prepare and was the last person to defeat Alex Pereira in kickboxing, claimed that Pereira will lose because he has gained too much muscle mass. Islam Makhachev confirmed he has started training camp for his next bout. Jiri Prochazka fired back at Alex Ullberg's accusations of being fake by calling him a stripper.