Did you know Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev almost had a showdown inside the octagon? If the duo had fought at UFC 297, when ‘Tarzan’ held the middleweight title, the 185-pound division would be starkly different from where it stands today. Chimaev, after all, was the official number-one title contender for the 185-pound crown after defeating Kamaru Usman last October.

But, ‘Borz’ encountered his infamous health issues, and refused a UFC 297 clash against Strickland. The duo have been feuding since then, with Chimaev taking great exception to Strickland’s take on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. And it seems the duo are now closer to finally resolving their differences in the octagon, as Strickland had a rather caustic reaction to Chimaev’s claims about ‘unfinished business’ between them.

Sean Strickland calls out Khamzat Chimaev over crypto scam

Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland have been involved in somewhat of a feud, since a sparring session at Xtreme Couture a few years ago, about which both men have contradictory memories. While ‘Tarzan’ claimed that he got the better of the Emirati citizen during their session, ‘Borz’ has disputed this claim. The Chechen claimed that he ‘choked’ and ‘beat up’ him, of which there were many witnesses. In addition, ‘Borz’ seems to be angling to fight ‘Tarzan’, claiming that there is “unfinished business” between them, claiming they can answer who is the better fighter once and for all “inside the octagon.”

Chimaev’s comments were reported by the MMA outlet ‘Championship Rounds’ in an Instagram post. And the former champion took to the comments section of the post with his own response. However, he was conspicuously silent about the sparring session, and sarcastically took hots at Chimaev over recent controversies the Emirati citizen has found himself in. “I’m glad he found time to speak this BS. I thought he was too busy running from crypto scams and hiding from war lords,” Strickland wrote.

Chimaev has been accused of at least promoting a pump-and-dump scheme involving his meme cryptocurrency, the SMASH token if not directly profiting from it. The undefeated UFC star has pled innocence to fans who lost their money and felt cheated. ‘Borz’ has claimed he was duped into promoting it, as he and his team weren’t well-versed on the intricacies of crypto and how it could have been misused, which it indeed was.

In addition, the Emirati citizen is good friends with the controversial Ramzan Kadyrov, dictator of his native Chechnya. Given the alleged human rights abuses by Kadyrov, many have called out Chimaev for publicly supporting a man many consider an autocrat.

Nevertheless, it seems like after yet another fight with physical ailments, Chimaev is ready to make a comeback, or maybe this time it’s ‘homecoming!’

‘Borz’ wants to fight at home on UFC 308

Khamzat Chimaev hopes to fight again in October on UFC 308. The UFC, of course, puts on a PPV card in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi every October, and it is natural for Chimaev, who recently acquired Emirati citizenship, to want to fight at home. While Dana White and the UFC will probably be more than willing to grant Chimaev his wish since it makes perfect sense, there is another request that ‘Borz’ has for the promotion.

In an interview with ‘MMA Mania’, the undefeated middleweight said that he ‘hopes’ his next fight is for the middleweight crown. This, however, is very unlikely to be granted by the UFC. At the moment, the UFC’s middleweight division is suffering from a veritable surfeit of fighters with strong claims to a title shot. Sean Strickland, who took the title off Israel Adesanya last year, lost his crown to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 by a razor-thin split decision.

This is why most feel he has the first right to a title shot after Du Plessis faces Adesanya at UFC 305 next month. Former champ Robert Whittaker is having somewhat of a renaissance, having scored his first knockout victory since 2017 just last month, and seems to be ahead of Chimaev on the title ladder, all things considered.

But, ‘Borz’ is not too far away from a shot at the 185-pound gold, since he was the official #1 title contender for three months last year. But a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and an immediate title shot seems very unlikely for the Chechnyan. What is your take on the whole ordeal?