Khamzat Chimaev laughed off Sean Strickland gun threats

Khamzat Chimaev’s team is brushing off Sean Strickland’s threat to shoot the middleweight champion if things escalate during fight week ahead of UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark.

Strickland told reporters Wednesday he would pull his gun and fire if confronted by Chimaev and his crew at the host hotel, though he did not clarify how he planned to transport a firearm across state lines or avoid arrest. Coach Alan Nascimento told MMA Fighting his fighter only saw the clip that morning and his reaction was instant. “He watched it, laughed, and we went straight to training,” Nascimento said. “Khamzat Chimaev is handling everything really well.”

Nascimento calls gun talk ‘just nonsense’

Nascimento, who has been in Chimaev’s corner since his first pro bout, said the verbal fireworks are expected but certain lines should not be crossed. “This whole thing of ‘I’m going to shoot him’ and all that, I think that’s just nonsense,” he said, per MMA Fighting. “Nobody is going to take things to that level. It doesn’t make sense.” He added that trash talk is accepted currency in modern fight promotion but questioned moves that drag in family or children, calling those tactics beneath a fighter.

The coach said his job is to insulate Chimaev from mental distractions, and the champion is more mature than in past camps. “Certain things we used to have to deal with before don’t happen anymore,” Nascimento said. According to MMA Mania, Chimaev is expected to fire back with his own comments at a Thursday media day, though the team views it all as part of the promotional game.

Chimaev makes his first middleweight title defense after taking the belt from Dricus Du Plessis. Nascimento said the team has locked out any talk of a future move to light heavyweight until after Strickland is handled. “The most important fight in any athlete’s life is always the next one, and Sean Strickland is the next one,” he said.

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Coach: Khamzat Chimaev ‘laughed’ at Sean Strickland’s gun threats ahead of UFC 328 | MMA Fighting
• mmamania.com — Khamzat unfazed by Sean Strickland’s rage-baiting gun threats | UFC 328 | MMA Mania