UFC 328 will feature a middleweight title bout between defending champion Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland. There is much ill-will between the fighters, and as they faced off in the press conference, the champ kicked the challenger, and now it’s all been explained.
In a post-press conference video posted by Adam Zubayraev via Championship Rounds, Chimaev explained the reason for his kick. “If I didn’t do this, he’s gonna do more and more bad things. If I let him do it, he’s gonna speak about my mom, my dad, everyone. That’s why I just had to stop him.“
Chimaev and Strickland went hard on each other during the press conference until the beef reached physical heights. Chimaev threw an oblique kick, which is designed to hyperextend the knee of the opponent. Hence, he is lucky Strickland’s knee didn’t suffer any damage, otherwise the main event could’ve gotten canceled.
Why do Chimaev and Strickland hate each other so much?
The fighting business is not precisely known for fighters being friendly to each other. After all, they punch each other in the face. However, there are some fights where the bad blood boils more than others.
A closer angle of the kick from Khamzat Chimaev on Sean Strickland during their press conference face-off 👀😬
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) May 7, 2026
🎥 @UFC_AUSNZ #UFC328 pic.twitter.com/Y78NFmR5hc
The fact is these two have been insulting each other for years, including personal stuff, bitter gym sparring sessions and just opposite personalities. There is an unwritten code that sparring videos shouldn’t be disclosed. However, Chimaev leaked a video sparring with Strickland saying he was “bullying weak people,” hence propeling the feud even further.
Strickland is a massive underdog, but he’s defied the odds before
Strickland is a former champion, but Vegas odds still have him as a +425 underdog in comparison to Chimaev, who comes in at -600. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time that Strickland comes in as a massive underdog and delivers a masterclass.
When he won the belt against Adesanya, he was a +540 underdog. He ended up putting on a show, nearly finishing Adesanya and dominating on the scorecards (49-46 x3) in Adesanya’s home soil.
