A bitter rivalry has officially turned dangerous, as Sean Strickland has now threatened to shoot Khamzat Chimaev and his team ahead of their UFC 328 showdown on May 9. Dana White has been busy taking precautions ever since the main event was announced. He had already revealed that security would be ramped up ahead of the event in Newark. The UFC CEO even canceled the planned face-off between the two after Joe Rogan advised him to—and understandably so.

In the buildup to the fight, Khamzat Chimaev claimed he expects his upcoming opponent to “run away” if he and his team were to “jump” him, arguing that Strickland has no one on his side to back him up. Strickland, known for his unfiltered trash talk, has now responded in typical fashion. ‘Tarzan’ fired back with a threat, saying he would shoot Chimaev and his team if they ever decided to come through on their threats.

“All I’m going to do [is] I’m [gonna] pull my gun out and I am gonna shoot him…,” Strickland told reporters. “I’ll tell you what. But that being said, if Chimaev were to come up to me as a gentleman and say, ‘Hey, you know what? You said some things, [and] you insulted my wife. I actually love sheep. That’s crazy.’ Then I would be like, ‘I love goats, dude. You know, goat tastes good.’ 

“He loves goats. We have that in common. I just don’t f–k them. But anyways, if he were to come up to me like a man, say, ‘Sean, you said some things about my dad, Kadyrov.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, you know what, dude? You w—ed yourself out. Not me. I want to settle this.’ I would say, ‘Let’s settle this like a man.’ 

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“But if you come up to me with three f–king goatf–ker Chechens that don’t speak English, I’m going to pull my gun, and I’m going to shoot each and every one of you… I’ll be strapped in New Jersey, too, dog. You don’t even worry about that.” 

Interestingly, their history outside the cage also points to a potential brawl breaking out ahead of the fight. Chimaev and Strickland have both shown that they revel in violence even outside the Octagon, and that’s why Dana White is taking every measure possible to prevent any such incident from happening and save the fighting for inside the cage. 

But even if the fighting is limited to the Octagon, Sean Strickland says the animosity between him and Khamzat wouldn’t end.

Sean Strickland claims he and Khamzat Chimaev will die as enemies

The former UFC middleweight champion is preparing for a heated title clash against the undefeated champion. The buildup has already been defined by hostility, with years of verbal jabs escalating tensions heading into fight week.

While many rivalries in MMA eventually cool after the final bell, Strickland believes this one is different. He pointed to past fights where he showed respect in defeat, but made it clear this situation carries a much deeper personal edge.

“Whoever wins is going to have bragging rights, and whoever doesn’t has to eat s—t until they die,” Strickland said. “That is the worst thing about this fight. I fight Fluffy and he beats me, I raise his hand. I say, ‘Fluffy, you beat me, good job.’ Dricus beat me, I raised his hand and said, ‘You beat me.’ But, I think me and c–shot, we die enemies.”

From the looks of things, the growing animosity between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland suggests it will be an explosive fight week in New Jersey next month.