Sean Strickland blames group text for sparking Khamzat Chimaev feud

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland says his feud with Khamzat Chimaev kicked off after jokingly dissing his native Chechnya.

Tensions are ramping up between UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and former titleholder Sean Strickland ahead of their main event clash at UFC 328. Strickland recently threatened to ‘shoot’ Chimaev during UFC 328 fight week in Newark, despite a high security presence employed by the promotion to separate the two rivals.

Strickland and Chimaev used to train together at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas before they went their separate ways and began trading barbs from afar. Originally, Strickland pointed to Chimaev’s alleged aggressive sparring as a significant reason for his dislike of the UFC middleweight titleholder.

It turns out, there was a lot more to that story, and things between Chimaev and Strickland took a dark turn thanks to a team group text.

Sean Strickland: Khamzat Chimaev ‘said he was going to kill me’ in team group text

In a recent interview with Paramount+, Strickland explained how his feud with Chimaev began when they were training together at Xtreme Couture.

“There’s a guy named John, really nice kid, he’s in the Contender Series now. We wrestled and I might’ve got the better of him during wrestling,” Strickland began on his feud with Chimaev.

“And I joked ‘Oh, I thought you would wrestle better for a Chechen’. So we have this group chat, and Chimaev sent me a message, pretty much called me a piece of s— and told me he was going to kill me, some crazy things. So I told Chimaev to simply go f— himself, and that I would meet him at a location at 5 p.m. The next thing he says is ‘Oh, it was a misunderstanding’.

“And from that moment on, I just knew he was a f—– coward,” Strickland continued. “From that moment, I knew you had a lack of dignity, and just not a f—– man.”

Strickland and Chimaev aren’t expected to face off at the UFC 328 ceremonial weigh-in on Friday, and it’s uncertain if they’ll come face-to-face at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday. Follow along here at BJPenn for all the latest from Newark.

Will Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland go the distance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!