Lines were certainly crossed in the build up to Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland later this evening (Sat., May 9, 2026) at UFC 328 LIVE on Paramount+ from inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, but according to UFC CEO, Dana White, it’s all part of the game.
This weekend’s clash between Chimaev and Strickland for the undisputed UFC middleweight title has become one of the biggest grudge matches the sport has seen in a few years. As former training partners turned rivals, Khamzat and Strickland absolutely
hate each other. Things have become so bad that Strickland even threatened to shoot the UFC champion and his team earlier this week if they approached him before the fight.
Knowing how bad the blood has gotten between Chimaev and Strickland it was a no brainer for UFC officials to employ increased security for everything UFC 328-related. This includes the pre-fight press conference, official weigh ins, and final staredowns. That still didn’t stop Chimaev from kicking Strickland below the belt during Thursday’s faceoff and nearly inciting an all-out brawl.
Despite all of the trash talk — including death threats, insults about religion, and cheap shots about child abuse — nothing seems to cross the line when it comes to UFC’s censorship team (as if there is one). In fact, all of the bad blood has only excited White and pumped more intrigue into Saturday’s main event (according to some).
“It doesn’t scare me,” White told TMZ on Friday.
“It’s been a minute since I’ve had a fight that’s had this much heat on it. Ya know, it’s exciting.”
