Sean Strickland has copped backlash from several MMA figures after squashing his bitter feud with Khamzat Chimaev following their explosive title fight at UFC 328.
The pair spent years locked in one of the ugliest rivalries in recent MMA history, trading personal insults, death threats and relentless verbal swipes before finally colliding in New Jersey over the weekend.
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Strickland reclaimed the middleweight title after a brutal five-round battle, but it was what happened after the grudge match that left many in the MMA world stunned – and not everyone was impressed.
Strickland and Chimaev embraced after the fight, with the Russian star even wrapping the belt around the American’s waist and congratulating him inside the cage.
“I just want to apologise to my American fans, to my Muslim fans, and my Christian fans,” Strickland said.
“I went too f**king hard, I’ll admit it. I respect all you guys.”
He later added at the post-fight press conference: “When you go through five rounds like that with somebody, it changes things.”
The apparent truce immediately sparked criticism from fighters and commentators who had bought into the hostility that had built between the pair.
Sean Brady, who also fought on the card, admitted he was confused by the pair burying the hatchet.
“If you’re talking about my mom, my children, my religion, I’m fighting you in the parking lot and wherever I see you, it’ll be like Peter Griffin and the rooster in Family Guy – they’re always fighting each other,” Brady said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“You can’t talk about people that way and then be all buddy-buddy about it afterwards.
“I get selling a fight, but there are certain things you just can’t say. Once you cross that line, there’s no coming back.
“I’m a fan of Khamzat and Strickland, but when they started dapping each other up in the cage, I was like … you guys just did all that, all the security, all the s*** talking, for that?
“People would’ve tuned in for that fight regardless.
“You have to keep that same energy forever.”
MMA cult hero Nate Diaz also took aim at Chimaev and Strickland, accusing the pair of “faking” their bitter rivalry.
Diaz, who built his career on controversy and infamous feuds with the likes of Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal, was characteristically blunt.
“I saw highlights of them hugging and f**king shaking hands right off the bat,” Diaz said on the Most Valuable Promotions YouTube channel.
“It’s f**king like, you just bullsh***ed me?
“I ain’t bullsh***ing nobody, I keep it real all the way through.
“You don’t gotta bulls**t me, I’m gonna watch.”
Diaz added: “They were faking the funk… that’s some b*tch fake f**king puppets.”
Veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani also blasted Strickland for appearing to walk back his pre-fight comments.
“That is the biggest bunch of bulls**t I’ve ever heard,” Helwani said.
“That is fraud. That is cowardly sh*t…. You cannot walk that back. You called Khamzat’s mother a wh**e.
“That tells me you’re not who you say you are… You’re a walking contradiction.”
Strickland fired back at Helwani on X, insisting the rivalry was the real deal.
“This is why I don’t do media with him. You are a leech who I’ve never respected. The moment I met this man I knew his quality,” he posted.
“End of the day the hatred between [us] was real, what he said about me was wrong, what I said about him was wrong.
“This [is] what hate and anger does to people and it still might be there but we earned each other’s respect through blood and I would never expect a man of his quality to understand that…”
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Sean Strickland SHOCKS the world again! | 00:46
Meanwhile, one man who is openly hostile toward Strickland is top middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov.
The French-Dagestani star is in line for a potential title shot and has made clear he has no intention of making peace with the American ever, warning he intends to “put your lights out.”
Imavov doubled down on his stance on social media on Tuesday, writing: “They say I take things too personally. Damn right. Religion, family, nation. These aren’t marketing to me.
“Every insult comes with a price. You’ll pay for it! NO HAPPY ENDING.”