During the media day leading up to the UFC 328 event in Newark, New Jersey, Sean Strickland gave his opinion on moving up to light-heavyweight. The former champion said he should move up to light-heavyweight because it is an easier division.
According to Strickland, there is a massive skill gap between the middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions. It is a known thing in the industry, and it is something to think about. Strickland thought about the division and mentioned former champion Magomed Ankalaev. He was also pretty clear about a potential match-up between Ankalaev and his opponent on Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland Says He Is Interested In The Light-Heavyweight Division
“I have sparred Ankalaev. That would be a great fight. He would beat Chimaev any day of the week. Ankalaev will probably be the next champion, hands down. It is crazy that Alex Pereira beat him. That’s how you know that you deserve your ranking and you are a champion because you beat Ankalaev. Ankalaev is probably one of the best 205’ers I’ve ever sparred,” said Strickland.
Strickland, who, like Chimaev, had fought at welterweight before, seemed very interested in moving up a weight class. But obviously, the task at hand is on Saturday. The former champion takes on the current champion, Khamzat Chimaev, in one of the biggest grudge matches in the last ten years.
[ #UFC328 | MAY 9 | 9pmET | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ]
Both guys trained together a couple of years ago at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Strickland went very vocal about Chimaev in the lead-up to the fight. The American fighter said that Chimaev was a real gym bully and always tried to spar against less talented fighters. Chimaev said he left the gym because Strickland couldn’t handle the hard sparring sessions with him.
One Of The Biggest Grudge Matches
During fight week, the UFC took many precautions. The fighters were prohibited from approaching one another. The organisation also booked two different hotels so the teams couldn’t meet each other backstage. During the press conference on Thursday, both fighters verbally attacked one another continually. The UFC had heavy security on stage, so everything could go well.
A physical altercation didn’t happen until the staredown at the end of the press conference. Chimaev kneed Strickland in the groin area. Security had to step in to break both fighters apart to prevent a brawl from happening. UFC President Dana White made sure the same thing wouldn’t happen on Friday. During the staredown for the ceremonial weigh-ins, both fighters didn’t meet face-to-face. The boss kept a big distance between the two ‘troublemakers’.
Full Card UFC 328
Main Card
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland
Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira
Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes Acosta
Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley
King Green vs. Jeremy Stephens
Preliminary Card
Ateba Gautier vs. Ozzy Diaz
Joel Álvarez vs. Yaroslav Amosov
Grant Dawson vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Jim Miller vs. Jared Gordon
Early Preliminary Card
Roman Kopylov vs. Marco Tulio
Pat Sabatini vs. William Gomis
Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Djorden Santos
Clayton Carpenter vs. José Ochoa
The UFC 328 event will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The early prelims start at 5 pm ET, followed by the prelims at 7 pm ET. The main card starts at 9 pm ET. The whole card is live on Paramount+.
‘Magomed Ankalaev beats Khamzat Chimaev any day of the week’