Training with ‘Borz’ is no joke.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev is set to defend his title for the first time in two months (Sat., May 9, 2026) against heated rival Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328 inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — and the champion is already hard at work in training camp.
Chimaev’s brutal training sessions have been widely discussed, with multiple fighters noting that he pushes himself to a level that borders
on punishing. Former Light Heavyweight title challenger Khalil Rountree — who has had a history with Strickland in the past — is the latest to get a firsthand look at Chimaev’s intensity, spending a week in camp with the champion.
The experience, as Rountree explained, was nothing short of eye-opening.
“It was very intense, but everything that I expected,” Rountree said on the JAXXON Podcast. “I knew I was going to come in here and do my absolute best, but it was painful. There were definitely moments where I’d call them humbling because they make me question certain things I even say about myself. Sometimes I think I’m really good or in good shape, and then I face a workout like this, and it makes me realize that there’s so much more to go. And so it’s eye-opening.”
Rountree also had to endure sparring with Chimaev, who dropped the former title challenger in a viral clip from their session. Beyond sparring, the champion’s training is infamous for its grueling cardio, punishing drills, and recently revealed competitive “bounties” — where he pays elite fighters if they can beat or submit him in the gym, and so far, no one has collected.
It’s clear that Chimaev’s relentless preparation is setting the tone for his UFC 328 showdown against Strickland, and anyone watching knows that stepping into his camp is as brutal as facing him in the Octagon.
