UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev kicked Sean Strickland at the UFC 328 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
Chimaev and Strickland had a heated pre-fight presser ahead of their Saturday night fight at UFC 328, which takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
As you’d expect from the arch rivals, they went hard after each other for the entire 30 minutes, shouting every expletive in the book at each other in an effort to hype up Saturday’s big fight.
Co-headliners Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira, who battle for the UFC flyweight title in the co-main event, were made more-or-less spectators for the theatrics, which resulted in a heated staredown between Chimaev and Strickland, one that quickly turned violent.
Khamzat Chimaev Kicks Sean Strickland During Staredown
UFC president Dana White told the fans that he would have Chimaev and Strickland face off against each other for photos, knowing that all hell could potentially break loose. With plenty of UFC security guards and Newark police officers on stage, Chimaev and Strickland stared each other down briefly before Chimaev kicked Strickland, and the two had to be separated.
Watch the video below.
Fortunately, it looks like Strickland was able to avoid any kind of injury, because nothing would make the UFC madder than the fight being canceled due to a pre-fight injury that could have been avoided.
Chimaev, Strickland Fighting in a True Grudge Match
Chimaev and Strickland will be fighting each other in a true grudge match this Saturday night at UFC 328 that has been years in the making.
The two middleweights used to train with each other in Las Vegas, so they both are well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Chimaev has claimed he has tapped out Strickland many times in sparring, while Strickland has claimed he has made Chimaev quit.
On Saturday, the two will finally lock horns inside the Octagon and go to battle in a fight that fans have been waiting a long time to watch go down.
Last August at UFC 319, Chimaev defeated former champ Dricus Du Plessis to claim the middleweight bout. He was likely going to fight Nassourdine Imavov in his first title defense, but when Strickland knocked out Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in an upset, the UFC decided to go with the grudge match instead, and the fans are much happier for it as a result.
Betting odds have Chimaev listed as a massive -600 favorite to win this fight, with Strickland coming in as a +425 underdog. Based on Chimaev’s incredibly dominant wrestling game, plus the fact that he has never lost in the UFC, it makes sense that he is the favorite to win this fight. But Strickland has earned multiple upset wins during his UFC career, so you cannot completely count him out of this fight despite what the lopsided odds suggest.
UFC 328 goes down this Saturday. Fight fans, you have just two more sleeps before one of the most highly anticipated fights goes down, and hopefully these two rivals make it through Friday night’s ceremonial weigh-ins unscathed.
Khamzat Chimaev Kicks Sean Strickland at UFC 328 Press Conference