UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is opening up on his training sessions with Sean Strickland.
‘Borz’ has been out of the cage since his majority-decision victory over Kamaru Usman last October. While the bout was labeled as a title eliminator heading into the matchup, Khamzat Chimaev didn’t get a shot at gold following the win. Instead, the Chechen was given a main event against Robert Whittaker, set for last month in Saudi Arabia.
However, the fight didn’t happen. A week out from fight night, Khamzat Chimaev came down with an illness and was forced to withdraw. As a result, Ikram Aliskerov stepped up, and was handed a first-round knockout loss by ‘The Reaper’. With the victory, Whittaker re-entered the title conversation at 185 pounds.
However, there’s another man in the running for a title shot right now, and that’s Sean Strickland. ‘Tarzan’ is coming off a split-decision victory over Paulo Costa last month at UFC 301. Strickland currently believes that he’s the rightful next challenger, and should face the winner of Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.
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Sean Strickland @SStricklandMMA says he got the better of Khamzat when they trained together.
Khamzat @KChimaev says quite the opposite. Who do you believe? pic.twitter.com/7IO8U0cFSP
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) July 18, 2024
Khamzat Chimaev discusses sparring session with former UFC champion Sean Strickland
However, Khamzat Chimaev has to provide some pushback on that. Earlier this week, ‘Borz’ called for a UFC title shot in his return to the cage in October. Furthermore, he discussed Sean Strickland and also opened up on their prior time training together. According to Chimaev, their sparring sessions weren’t even close.
“He [Sean Strickland] said he beat me in sparring.” Khamzat Chimaev stated in a recent interview with Red Corner MMA. “But, there were a lot of guys around who saw me choking him and beating him up. It was even recorded on camera. So, we also have some unfinished business. It would be good to see who’s better inside the octagon.”
While Khamzat Chimaev would love the chance to fight Sean Strickland, he’s going to have to wait. While ‘Borz’ believes he deserves a title shot, he’s also deadset on returning to the cage in October. Meanwhile, Strickland has revealed his plans to sit out as long as it takes to get a UFC title shot.
What do you make of these comments about Sean Strickland? Who do you want to see Khamzat Chimaev fight in his UFC return?
