UFC analyst Din Thomas expects things to get nasty between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland in the lead up to UFC 328.
After years of talk, Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) will finally share the octagon in a middleweight championship headliner of the May 9 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (Paramount+)
The pair were once on solid terms and even trained together for multiple weeks at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. The relationship eventually turned into a rivalry, however, and now the pair will clash in what appears to be a legitimate grudge match with the highest stakes possible.
Strickland has already gone on a verbal assault toward Chimaev, and UFC CEO Dana White said extra security will be needed on fight week. Most expect the trash talk to only get darker and more intense as UFC 328 looms, and Thomas said Strickland must be cautious playing that game.
“I think it’s going to be real ugly,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “I think they’re going to need extra security. I think it can get real ugly for a couple different reasons. Here’s what Sean Strickland is brilliant at: He can cross it sometimes, but not to the point where he gets canceled or it’s like, ‘We can’t have this guy fight no more.’
“You know Sean is going to say some crazy, wild stuff and he’s going to leave it at that and he’s going to wait for the fight. But we just don’t know what Chimaev and his people might do if they’re truly offended – what they might say or do if they’re truly offended.”
There’s a debate to be had about whether Strickland antagonizing Chimaev is the correct approach. No one has been able to defeat “The Wolf” to this point in his career, though, so perhaps there is value is trying to get him emotional.
On the flip side, however, Chimaev is already a fierce individual, and giving him any more motivation might be a misstep. Thomas leans with the latter, especially because he thinks that skills-for-skill, Strickland is the most capable at 185 pounds of dethroning Chimaev.
“I don’t know if I would go that route,” Thomas said. “I would focus on my game and not rile this guy up any more because you just never know. You can’t trust what he’s going to do – not even him. He might have some goons with him who just say, ‘I don’t care. We’re going to show up to Jersey and do what we do because I don’t care.’ You don’t know what these goons are going to do. If I’m Sean, I’m going to put on the show, but I’m not going to let it get too far. You’ve got to be careful.”
To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
