Khamzat Chimaev’s team has been given an explicit instruction heading into UFC 328 fight week: do not do anything that puts the title fight at risk.
Middleweight contender Brendan Allen, who spent the final three weeks of training camp alongside Chimaev before departing for his own June 6 preparation, shared the message coaches delivered to everyone in the champion’s circle.
“Khamzat’s team, nor anyone on it that’s part of his entourage or whatever you want to call it, is going to jeopardize that opportunity. I promise you that nobody is going to do anything to jeopardize it. Now if someone approaches them and tries to put hands on them, hey, they’re not responsible for that. But as far as them initiating and starting a problem, I highly doubt that happens. There will be a lot of repercussions for anyone who does that outside of UFC or anything like that. Everyone knows what’s at stake and like the coaches said: If you care about Khamzat, you won’t do anything fight week. You’ll let everything be and let Khamzat handle the job how he’s going to handle it come fight night.”
Allen also described how Chimaev and those closest to him are processing Strickland’s ongoing campaign to provoke a reaction, including the gun threats and relentless trash talk.
“We know Sean’s just going to talk and try to dig deeper and say stupider things and try to get more reckless to try to draw a reaction or make him emotional. I know he knows this. The ones that are the closest to him keep making sure to be repetitive about that. He’s very aware. He’s very mature. He’ll have little comebacks here and there probably, but as long as they don’t put hands on him or try to, I think everything will be just fine. You’ll just hear Sean talk, talk, talk, talk.”
Allen will not be part of Chimaev’s entourage in Newark this week, having returned to Chicago to prepare for his own fight with Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 118 on June 6. He will instead be watching from a distance as a fight week that has already generated unprecedented levels of security concern plays out in New Jersey.
You can hear more from Allen on The Bohnfire podcast with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn.
UFC 328 takes place Saturday, May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, streaming on Paramount+.