UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has fired back at Sean Strickland following comments made by the former champ at the UFC’s event in Houston on Saturday night.

Strickland, who ended the winning streak of Anthony Hernandez via third-round TKO in the main event criticised the reigning UFC middleweight champion in the lead-up to the event, accusing him of focusing on other opponents rather than preparing for a first title defense. Speaking before the bout, Strickland questioned Chimaev’s activity and durability.

“He always does that [expletive], dude,” Strickland told reporters, including TheMacLife. “He probably thinks it’s going to be a hard fight, and he probably thinks, ‘I don’t want to do it. It’s a hard fight.’ Every f*cking fight the guy fights, he’s injured. Every fight. You wanna see the break on my shoulder? I’ll show you the X-ray. Every fight this guy, he has some mysterious f*cking injury. There’s no proof of it. There’s no MRI, there’s no X-ray, but for some reason you f*cking fight, everything breaks on you.”

After earning the victory over Hernandez, Strickland reiterated his interest in facing Chimaev next.

“I don’t know, man,” Strickland said. “If Chimaev finally gets off the bench, I’d like a piece of that little Chechen [expletive], but you never know with him, bro. You never know with that guy, but that’s who I want.”

Chimaev responded shortly afterward on social media, referencing Strickland’s previous losses. “Habibi come down,” Chimaev wrote. “I destroyed the guy who beat you twice. American [expletive].”

Chimaev captured the UFC middleweight title in August 2025 with a unanimous decision win over Dricus du Plessis. There has been no official announcement regarding the timing or opponent for his first title defense.