Khamzat Chimaev released a brief clip from his infamous sparring session with Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 328, apparently attempting to reinforce his dominance narrative. Fans had a different reaction.
The video, posted on social media, shows around 26 seconds of striking exchanges between the two fighters. Chimaev captioned it with a laughing emoji and the message “I am bullying weak people,” a jab at Strickland’s previously reported claim that he prefers sparring with lower-level or younger fighters at the gym.
The clip drew over 600,000 views but the comment section was not kind. Reactions included “You did absolutely nothing kid. You’re DEAD Saturday,” “You didn’t even land a shot sorry a– bum,” and “Bro you hardly landed one punch.”
The sparring session between the two has been a major talking point throughout the build to UFC 328. Multiple sources have suggested the striking exchanges were relatively even, perhaps with a slight edge to Strickland, while Chimaev’s grappling was reportedly more dominant once the fight went to the ground. Strickland will be fully aware of what actually happened when they trained together, making the psychological impact of the clip questionable at best.
It is worth noting that fighters have occasionally released unimpressive training footage deliberately to lower an opponent’s guard. Whether that is the case here or whether the clip simply did not land the way Chimaev intended is a matter of interpretation.
UFC 328 takes place Saturday, May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.