Sean Strickland didn’t use Khamzat Chimaev to supply beef, however he might have been hallucinating.
On Saturday evening, Strickland added one other notable win to his resume with an upset victory over Chimaev in the principle occasion of UFC 328, reclaiming the middleweight title. There was a whole lot of discuss earlier than the battle about their bitter rivalry, with UFC CEO Dana White even calling their feud probably the most intense in UFC historical past, however Strickland has no regrets.
“I am choosing a battle,” Strickland stated within the postgame press convention. “Have a look at the UFC. The UFC is so fucking boring. Significantly, the UFC is so fucking boring. Do you even know half of[the roster]? Aside from Alex (Pereira), he does not even discuss. He is simply massive and scary. That man simply knocks everybody out. However apart from Alex, he is fucking boring.”
Strickland and Chimaev actually bought this battle, and their pre-fight press convention was one of many most-watched in UFC historical past. However their beef did not final lengthy. Earlier than the match, Strickland and Chimaev gave the impression to be on good phrases, even touching gloves, and after the match they hugged with all their may, with Chimaev wrapping his middleweight title round Strickland’s waist, constructing a passionate relationship. However Strickland says that is what occurs after you share the battlefield with another person.
“Some stuff you simply do not know what it is like till you expertise it,” Strickland stated. “If you go to battle one other man, your soul is simply laid naked. If you’re fucking bleeding and he is bleeding, I need to stop. He desires to stop, we do not need to be there, you simply have this degree of respect for one another. It transcends race, faith, nationality, nation. It is one thing you do not know. After you and him attempt to die, win or lose, you type of grow to be somebody’s brother.”
After all, not everybody agrees. Some followers took their actions earlier than and after the match as an indication that Chimaev and Strickland weren’t as hostile to one another as they had been portrayed, and had been merely flaunting their beef to attract curiosity within the match. Mr. Strickland fully rejects that.
“At that second, the man kicked me within the balls! Oh my god!” Strickland stated.
“I do not wish to be threatened. And perhaps it is his character, however when he was within the gymnasium, he was actually threatening. He had such a threatening perspective. And perhaps it is that little man in me, however once you threaten me, I fucking kill you.” I need to kill you. And he most likely did not take it that means. Perhaps it is his Chechen humorousness, however within the gymnasium he all the time tried to spar, and he by no means sparred.
That stated, Strickland additionally acknowledged that he’s not a really secure particular person, and admitted that his issues with Chimaev might have all been fabricated in his head.
“Truthfully, I may have made up the entire state of affairs in my head,” Strickland added. “There are occasions when he isn’t in a superb way of thinking, and he interacts with individuals, and his mind thinks one thing else occurred. … So the entire interplay with Chimaev may have been a hallucination.”
Hallucinations or not, it looks like Strickland will not need to take care of Chimaev once more anytime quickly. After the battle, Chimaev knowledgeable UFC CEO Dana White that he meant to maneuver as much as 205 kilos, which Strickland thinks is a superb thought for his new comrade.
“On the finish of the day, I heard he stated he may need to transfer as much as No. 205 and he ought to,” Strickland stated. “If weight reduction is your life, go to 205 and luxuriate in life. Competitors is way simpler.”
In the meantime, Strickland will probably be tasked with defending his middleweight title as soon as once more, beginning with what’s prone to be a rematch with Nasouddin Imavov, one thing the champion is ready to simply accept.
“I actually imagine within the UFC rankings,” Strickland stated. “I feel they’re necessary, and I hate it when males leap over them. So if it is the UFC, if it is the rankings, if it is the UFC, then that is it. Let’s go!”
