Overview
- Chimaev, who posted the long-rumored sparring clip Tuesday, showed only brief stand-up exchanges with Strickland and no grappling.
- The footage does not reveal a clear edge, reinforcing the rivals’ opposing claims about past rounds at Xtreme Couture.
- UFC measures for fight week include placing the teams in different hotels and canceling a planned Paramount face-off to prevent run-ins.
- Strickland recently threatened to shoot Chimaev and his team if confronted, and Chimaev brushed it off while saying he has not seen Strickland due to tight security.
- The build-up now blends a disputed sparring history with Strickland’s account of a group-chat joke that led to an alleged death threat, as the unbeaten champion defends his middleweight belt Saturday in Newark.