A physical altercation occurred during the UFC 328 face-off when Khamzat Chimaev kicked Sean Strickland in the leg. The exchange escalated from verbal confrontation, with Strickland taunting Chimaev and calling him names. Dana White attempted to calm the situation before Chimaev struck. Strickland later commented that this was exactly what he expected from a coward. The incident added further intensity to their already heated rivalry heading into the fight.
Tensions between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev boiled over at the UFC 328 face-off on May 7, when Chimaev kicked Strickland in the leg during a heated pre-fight confrontation, just two days before their scheduled middleweight title fight.
The exchange began as a verbal dispute, with Strickland taunting Chimaev and calling him names before the situation turned physical. UFC President Dana White moved in to defuse the confrontation, but Chimaev landed the kick before the two men were separated. Strickland later made clear he was unsurprised by the incident, characterizing it as the behavior of a coward.
Strickland, 35, enters UFC 328 as the reigning middleweight champion, carrying a 31-7-0 record. Fighting out of Xtreme Couture, the American stands 185 cm tall with a 193 cm reach and averages 6.04 significant strikes per minute, making him one of the division's most relentless pressure fighters.
Chimaev, 32, arrives as the top-ranked middleweight contender and holds the tenth spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. The UAE-based Swede owns a 15-1-0 record and has established himself as one of the sport's most complete threats, posting a striking accuracy of 60 percent while also averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and 1.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- Strickland's middleweight title is on the line against the division's top-ranked challenger
- Chimaev's elite grappling output presents a sharp stylistic contrast to Strickland's high-volume striking game
- The face-off incident signals the personal animosity between the two fighters is genuine, raising the stakes heading into fight night
Saturday, May 9, 2026
