Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland didn’t hold back on his former training partner Khamzat Chimaev.
During Khamzat Chimaev‘s meteoric rise in the UFC Octagon, he’s been known as a relentless worker in the gym. Darren Till, former PFL champ Sadibou Sy, and others who have worked with Chimaev have touted the unbeaten star’s freakish work ethic.
Chimaev is a little over a week away from challenging UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event. Ahead of the pay-per-view card, Chimaev hired a new conditioning coach to help him prepare for a potential five-round war against Du Plessis.
While some of Chimaev’s antics outside of the cage have rubbed some fans wrongly, he’s been mostly regarded as a great teammate in the gym. But not from former UFC champion Sean Strickland‘s perspective.
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Sean Strickland goes off on Khamzat Chimaev after past training sessions
Strickland and Chimaev briefly trained together earlier in their careers at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. A viral clip during one of their training sessions had Strickland singing Chimaev’s praises, claiming that Chimaev was ‘better than everyone’ at the gym.
Fast forward to 2025, and things have soured between the former teammates.
In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Strickland gave a less-than-flattering review of his time training with Chimaev.
“Chimaev is just a f—– c—,” Strickland said.
“I was there when he retired from COVID. I was training with him. There’s a video of me, and I was like ‘Oh, you’re so good, you’re better than everybody’, and I’m being sarcastic.
“You can pick high-level UFC fighters, but you go and f—– starch this 1-1 guy, but there’s guys like Edmen, high-level UFC fighters, and you’re picking the 1-1 fighter because you think he’s the same height as your opponent. No dude, you’re picking him because you’re a b—,” Strickland continued.
“He can fight, but mentally, he’s just a weak man.”
As of this writing, Chimaev hasn’t responded to Strickland’s comments. Just weeks ago, Chimaev’s attempt to troll Strickland went horribly wrong when he tagged the wrong user on social media.
Strickland fought twice against Du Plessis and is familiar with both sides of the UFC 319 main event. Recently, he shared his prediction for what will transpire between Chimaev and Du Plessis on fight night.
Sean Strickland shared ‘expert prediction’ for UFC 319 main event
Contrary to popular opinion, Strickland predicts Du Plessis will defeat Chimaev at UFC 319. He asserted that stopping Chimaev’s elite wrestling ‘isn’t that hard’ as Du Plessis prepares to hand Chimaev the first setback of his MMA career.
Strickland hasn’t fought since a lopsided defeat to Du Plessis at UFC 312 earlier this year. As a former foe called him out for a fight, Strickland was issued an indefinite suspension after a viral post-fight brawl at a Las Vegas MMA event.
Chimaev earned the title shot following recent middleweight wins over Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker. Before moving up to middleweight, Chimaev was likely one win away from challenging for the welterweight title.
Du Plessis vs. Chimaev is one of the biggest UFC fights of the year, and Strickland will keep a keen eye on the action as it unfolds at UFC 319.