Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev sold us the UFC 328 main event on gym wars and violent threats.
It seemed like a legitimate feud at the time. After all, Strickland is a racist schmuck and Chimaev is besties with a homicidal maniac, so there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of their buildup. Then came a split decision victory for “Tarzan” last May in Newark, followed by handshakes, bro hugs, and apologies.
Probably because “Borz” thought he was moving to light heavyweight for his next fight.
“They talked about killing each other and all this stuff, and then that was buried,” retired UFC heavyweight and current analyst Daniel Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I thought to myself, ‘Okay, this thing’s over’ because you cannot sell a rematch or any type of rivalry between these two because you almost pulled the curtain back. We know bad blood between these two equates to a really good fight and honestly, the fight wasn’t bad. Strickland pretty much controlled the fight with his jab, and Sean fought a great fight that night. Khamzat never got started, but we’d be like, ‘Oh my goodness, they’re at it again. Two dudes that hate each other are going to fight again,’ if we did not get that moment in Newark, a moment we didn’t really need. It was unnecessary.”
Strickland, who reclaimed the 185-pound crown, has a habit of burying bloody hatchets.
“You don’t have to bury the hatchet, especially when the guy you beat for the belt is so dominant against everyone else that there’s a really strong chance that he’ll work his way back to a championship opportunity,” Cormier added. “When (Strickland) tells you that it’s not real, ‘I was selling a fight,’ you believe him. He does not sugarcoat anything and that’s why people love him. I would watch those two fight every day of the week because I love the fight within the fight. To the general fan, how do we get them to believe it, when the ultimate truth speaker in our league has told us he doesn’t really hate him as much as it may seem? They’re not going to be able to sell it on a blood feud like they did last time.”