Houston — Sean Strickland put on one of his best showing’s in the main event of UFC Houston on Saturday, knocking out Anthony Hernandez in the third round of a near-flawless performance.
That has once again put Strickland into the mix atop 185lbs, where champ Khamzat Chimaev has not fought since capturing the title against Dricus Du Plessis last August.
Asked following UFC Houston about a match-up with “Borz,” who is expected to face Nassourdine Imavov next, Strickland (30-7) was his usual outspoken, colorful self. “Who wants to see two little goat f*ckers go at it? You want to watch a real f*cking American fight this little Chechen f*cking whore on American soil.”
“This is the fight that needs to happen,” he added.
Where it would happen, potentially, is another question. The UFC, per Dana White, now has the line-up for the White House card in June set, though it has not been announced.
“Who knows, dude? Maybe I’ve got to do hang out with Epstein or some sh*t. I guarantee f*cking Chimaev will go to a f*cking island,” Strickland told media outlets including Cageside Press. “That motherf*ckers going all day long, that dirty f*cker.”
Strickland then suggested that the source of his feud with the UFC middleweight champ dated back to the pair training together.
“I made him quit training. Witnesses in the audience were there. I made him quit,” revealed Strickland. “We were doing positional grappling, and he f*cking, positional grappling. ‘Alright, start on my back.’ It was like first round, and I let him choke me. Because no one gives a f*ck. Let me tell you about this little b*tch. When I walk into a gym, do you think that I go find the littlest, weakest man and say ‘let’s go spar?’ No, I go find the biggest, baddest motherf*cker and I’m like ‘hey, I want to spar you.'”
In contrast, continued Strickland, “every time Chimaev would walk into a gym, he would pick the smallest, lowest level pro and say ‘but oh, he looks like my opponent.’ You’re beating the f*ck out of him. This is a true story. He would pick the smallest guy.”
“Chimaev is a f*cking bully. If you notice what he does in the division, he just runs and f*cking hides. ‘Now I want to go to 205 and fight Jiri [Prochazka],’ who’s not even the champ dude. You just run and f*cking hide. You did it when you trained with us, and you’re doing it with the f*cking division.”
Khamzat Chimaev has made hints at a move to light heavyweight of late. However, UFC CEO and President Dana White said on Saturday that he would prefer the champ defend his title before any potential move. Whether that fight comes against Imavov or Strickland remains to be seen.
Watch the full UFC Houston post-fight press conference with Sean Strickland above.
