Sean Strickland Unleashes Fury at Khamzat Chimaev Over UFC Title Reign
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has launched a blistering verbal assault on current titleholder Khamzat Chimaev, criticising what he perceives as a lack of activity from the champion. Strickland, who held the belt from September 2023 until January 2024, expressed significant frustration with Chimaev's schedule since capturing the title in August last year.
Strickland Questions UFC's Handling of Chimaev
In a candid interview with ESPN, the American fighter did not mince words about his concerns regarding Chimaev's championship tenure. "It's kind of weird what the UFC did with Chimaev," Strickland stated bluntly. "You brought a guy in that fights once a year [...] He's just gonna sit on that belt and wait and wait, until they force him to fight."
Chimaev secured the middleweight championship by dominating Dricus Du Plessis, concluding an unconventional ascent through the division. Between his 2020 debut and his title victory, the Russian fighter appeared unstoppable whenever he entered the Octagon. However, his progression was hampered by various obstacles including illness, travel complications, and frequent moves between weight classes.
Financial Motivations Behind Strickland's Criticism
Strickland elaborated on his perspective from a financial standpoint, suggesting that fighters might actually benefit economically by avoiding championship pursuits. "The middleweight division, man... From a pure money perspective, you would make more money not fighting for the belt than you would fighting for the belt," he claimed. "The belt isn't even on my brain anymore, I don't think about it. I'll make significantly more money just fighting."
The 34-year-old fighter presented a hypothetical scenario to illustrate his point: "You say, 'Hey, do you wanna wait a year-and-a-half [for the champion] and not fight, or just keep fighting – and fighting good guys – and maybe take an L?' I'll just go fight good guys, maybe take an L, and I'll triple my pay."
Specific Concerns About Chimaev's Reliability
Strickland pointed to his upcoming opponent, rising contender Anthony "Fluffy" Hernandez, to further emphasise his argument. "Let's just say Fluffy beats me, and they're like: 'Fluffy, we want you for a title fight,'" Strickland began. "[Chimaev] is gonna fight Nassourdine [Imavov] in probably, what, six months? Say they have a hard fight, or even if they have an easy fight, he sprains his pinky toe, he's out for another eight months."
The former champion continued with palpable frustration: "So Fluffy, you're not fighting for a year-and-a-half, if you wanna wait for [Chimaev]. And I'm sure he would, but me personally, I don't give a damn. Give me my pay check, I wanna go fight."
Strickland added pointed criticism about Chimaev's injury history: "Every fight, the dude is like: 'I broke my hand.' It's like, every time this guy fights, he has a mysterious injury. Why wait [for him]?"
Contextualising Chimaev's Challenges
While Strickland's accusations suggest frequent injuries, Chimaev has actually experienced relatively few physical setbacks during his UFC career. The 31-year-old champion has, however, battled significant health issues throughout his time in the promotion. He reportedly suffered from long Covid effects following the 2020 pandemic, leading to six cancelled fight opportunities.
These cancellations included:
- Three attempted matchups with Leon Edwards
- One scheduled bout with Nate Diaz
- One planned fight with Paulo Costa
- One arranged contest with Robert Whittaker – whom Chimaev later submitted
Strickland's Recent Career Trajectory
Interestingly, Strickland previously trained alongside Chimaev before their careers diverged. The American fighter last competed in February 2025, suffering a rematch defeat to Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland was outpointed by the South African fighter, mirroring his earlier loss to "DDP" when he relinquished the championship thirteen months prior.
As Strickland prepares to face Anthony Hernandez this Saturday, his comments reveal deeper concerns about championship stagnation in the middleweight division and the economic realities facing UFC fighters navigating title contention.
