Khamzat Chimaev's coach dismisses Sean Strickland gun threats

Khamzat Chimaev’s coach says the middleweight champion laughed off Sean Strickland’s recent comments about using a gun if the two fighters confront each other during fight week for UFC 328.

Strickland told reporters Wednesday he would pull his firearm and shoot Chimaev if surrounded by the champion’s team in Newark, per MMA Fighting. Alan Nascimento, who has coached Chimaev since his first professional bout, said his fighter only saw the clip that morning and went straight to training afterward. “That’s part of the game,” Nascimento told MMA Fighting. “But this whole thing of ‘I’m going to shoot him’ and all that, I think that’s just nonsense. Nobody is going to take things to that level. It doesn’t make sense.”

Chimaev camp focused on May 9 title defense

Nascimento said Strickland’s escalating rhetoric fits a familiar pattern of destabilizing opponents through verbal attacks. The coach acknowledged that some fighters cross lines by involving family or children, tactics he personally finds distasteful, but said those methods have become normalized in modern fight promotion. Chimaev has flirted with dropping the belt after this fight to chase light heavyweight gold, but Nascimento told MMA Mania the team eliminated any discussion beyond Strickland the moment both sides agreed to the matchup.

Nascimento said his primary job is keeping Chimaev mentally protected from distractions, a task made easier by the champion’s increased maturity. According to MMA Fighting, Chimaev will attend a UFC media day Thursday and is expected to fire back with “some nonsense” of his own.

Chimaev defends his middleweight title for the first time since taking it from Dricus Du Plessis when he meets Strickland in the UFC 328 main event on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark.

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