Khamzat Chimaev Opens Up on Sean Strickland Altercation Ahead of UFC 328

Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev (Image Credits: Imagn)

Khamzat Chimaev Opens Up on Sean Strickland Altercation Ahead of UFC 328

Originally posted on Total Pro Sports | By Pavan Sharma | Last updated May 8, 2026 2:38 PM ET

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland’s rivalry is so hyped that their press conference drew more than 200 K concurrent viewers on the YouTube live stream. This shows that this fight is super intense. Meanwhile, fans also saw a heated face-off where Chimaev hit Strickland with a kick.

There was a lot of security on the stage, but still the middleweight champion kicked ‘Tarzan.’ Later, he explained that he kicked Strickland because he felt the 35-year-old’s trash talk was crossing serious personal boundaries. During his talk with Adam Zubayraev, he said:

“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.”

Khamzat Chimaev explains why he kicked Sean Strickland:

“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.”

(via @AdamZubayraev) pic.twitter.com/PKKFdWEDk9
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 8, 2026

The Chechnya fighter believed that if he stayed quiet and allowed it to continue, the American fighter would only become more disrespectful. Meanwhile, this only made the fight super exciting, and now Dana White also reacted to the press conference altercation.

Dana White Reacts To Face-Off Between Sean Strickland And Khamzat Chimaev

Dana White was trying to prevent a full-blown fight on stage between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev, which is why there was extreme security. However, during the face-off, White was also seen holding Chimaev’s hand, but he landed a kick to Strickland, and reacting to it, White said:

“You saw me holding [Khamzat’s] arm the whole time, but he got me with the kick. I didn’t see the kick coming.”

Dana White reacts to INSANE face offs between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev:

“You saw me holding [Khamzat's] arm the whole time, but he got me with the kick. I didn't see the kick coming."

@UFConParamount pic.twitter.com/g6lqW8uWMp
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 8, 2026

The UFC boss said he was caught off guard, too. UFC 328 has gotten even bigger; both fighters have generated immense hype for this card, as the press conference live stream reached 200K+ concurrent viewers. The energy in the Octagon is going to be different.

This article first appeared on Total Pro Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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