Overview
- Chimaev and Strickland’s faceoff turned physical Thursday when Chimaev kicked the challenger, and police and UFC security rushed in to separate them.
- UFC leadership had already tightened protocols for fight week with extra security, separate fighter hotels, and a scrapped Paramount+ face-off after Dana White called their feud one of the most heated ever.
- Strickland reacted on social media by calling Chimaev a coward, following weeks in which he had made a gun threat toward the champion and his team if they confronted him before the fight.
- The middleweight title bout remains scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at Newark’s Prudential Center, with the main card at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
- Betting markets list Chimaev as a heavy favorite around -535, signaling broad expectations that the undefeated champion will retain his belt.