Khamzat Chimaev confident he quickly finishes Sean Strickland

Khamzat Chimaev confident he quickly finishes Sean Strickland

At UFC 294, Khamzat Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator to earn the chance to fight UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. On X, Chimaev teased that he would make easy work of Strickland.

Chimaev’s claim comes after Strickland said Chimaev does not deserve to fight for the title. Still, the champion said he was willing to fight Chimaev if that was the fight the UFC wanted to make.

Chimaev’s comment may seem like simple trash talk on the surface; however, it goes a little deeper than that. Chimaev and Strickland have trained together. It is probable that these two fighters have sparred with one another. The results of those sessions are unknown; however, Chimaev is talking as if he got the better of Strickland. If that is the case, he may be reminding him of what happened in the past rather than telling him what will happen in the future.

In all likelihood, the UFC community will learn how a matchup between Chimaev and Strickland plays out. Chimaev seems destined to challenge for the belt next.

A fight between Chimaev and Strickland is clearly a bout the UFC wants to book based on the fact that the UFC labeled Chimaev’s UFC 294 bout as a title eliminator. What is lesser known is that the UFC asked Strickland to be Paulo Costa’s replacement and defend his title against Chimaev at UFC 294.

The build-up to a fight between Chimaev and Strickland promises to be wild and the pair are likely just touching the surface of their trash talk.

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