There will be no love lost in Newark — now or ever.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Sean Strickland looks to reclaim gold against undefeated rival Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 328 main event next weekend (Sat., May 9, 2026) inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — and the bad blood is already boiling.
With tensions high thanks to years of insults and heated exchanges outside the cage, fight week is expected to be intense — likely requiring added security to keep
things in check.
But what happens after the fight?
History shows that even the nastiest rivalries can cool off once the cage door closes. We’ve seen it with Colby Covington vs. Kamaru Usman, Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya, and even Strickland’s own clash with Dricus du Plessis.
Then there are the feuds that never die — like Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov or Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal.
According to Strickland, his fight with Chimaev falls firmly into that second category.
“Whoever wins is going to have bragging rights, and whoever doesn’t has to eat shit until they die,” Strickland told assembled media during an early UFC 328 scrum. “That is the worst thing about this fight. I fight Fluffy and he beats me — I raise his hand, I say, ‘Fluffy, you beat me, good job.’ Dricus beat me, I raised his hand and said, ‘You beat me.’ But, I think me and cum shot? We die enemies.”
Time will tell if Strickland sticks to that mindset.
But one thing is certain: this one isn’t ending with a handshake, and it’s going to be a wild and NSFW fight week leading up to it.
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