A physical altercation occurred during the UFC 328 face-off when Khamzat Chimaev kicked Sean Strickland's leg. According to a transcript of the exchange, Dana White attempted to calm the situation by telling both fighters to behave normally. Chimaev initially said he wouldn't touch Strickland, but Strickland responded aggressively, calling him a dog and saying he wouldn't do anything. Chimaev then declared he would knock Strickland out before delivering the kick. Strickland later commented on social media that this was exactly the behavior he expected from a coward, referring to Chimaev.
Two days before their scheduled middleweight title fight at UFC 328, a tense face-off between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev turned physical when Chimaev kicked Strickland in the leg during the promotional staredown on May 7, 2026.
UFC president Dana White was present and attempted to de-escalate the situation, urging both men to conduct themselves normally. According to a transcript of the exchange, Chimaev initially stated he would not touch Strickland, but Strickland fired back with insults, calling him a dog and taunting that he would do nothing. Chimaev responded by declaring he would knock Strickland out, then landed the kick. Strickland later took to social media, describing the incident as exactly the cowardly behavior he had come to expect from Chimaev.
Strickland, 35, enters UFC 328 as the reigning middleweight champion, carrying a 31-7-0 record. Fighting out of Xtreme Couture, the American stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and averages 6.04 significant strikes per minute, making him one of the division's highest-volume offensive fighters.
Chimaev, 32, is the number-one ranked middleweight contender and sits at number ten in the pound-for-pound rankings. The UAE-based Swede holds a 15-1-0 record and fights out of Allstars Training Center. He stands six-foot-two and brings an elite grappling game, averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes alongside 1.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes, while posting a striking accuracy rate of 60 percent.
Why it matters
- The altercation adds genuine animosity to an already high-stakes middleweight title fight scheduled for May 9
- A Chimaev victory would move the number-one contender to champion and shake up the 185-pound rankings significantly
- The stylistic contrast is sharp: Strickland's volume striking output against Chimaev's dominant wrestling and submission threat
Saturday, May 9, 2026
