UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is not too happy with the situation surrounding his next challenger.
Strickland, who recently became champion by defeating Israel Adesanya last month, is not a fan of the matchup between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev going down in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 294, which takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
“Here’s the thing Usman is not in a camp, (Chimaev) has been bulking to middleweight, Usman took this fight for a paycheck,” Strickland said on his YouTube channel. “They (UFC) said, ‘Hey, Usman. Here’s a couple of million. Do you want to take this fight? We’ll give it to you.’ Usman said, ‘I can’t say no. I’m going to do it.’
“It’s a win-win for Usman. So, I think it doesn’t really count, because Chimaev has been training his d*ck off and bulking up for middleweight, and then you have Usman who’s been like, ‘I’m going to take this and get a paycheck.’ To me, this is kind of a bullsh*t fight. They just needed to fill a seat, and I got Chimaev.”
Usman took this fight against Chimaev on less than two weeks’ notice, as he replaced an injured Paulo Costa. Usman, a former champion at welterweight, is moving up a division to face Chimaev.
Strickland is picking the Chechen fighter to win, but he would’ve sided with Usman if the circumstances surrounding this fight were different.
“Usman is a vet and with that comes patience, skill,” Strickland said. “170, full camp, I got Usman. 170, full camp, five rounds, Usman. Three rounds, coming off the f*cking couch, I got Chimaev.”
In regards to Costa, Strickland hopes to see the UFC cut him from the roster. Costa has withdrawn from several bouts in the past.
“This is more UFC f*ckery, this is bullsh*t,” Strickland said. “Bro, they just need to cut what’s his name? They need to f*cking cut Costa. Costa, dude, again, you are such a f*cking c*nt. At this point, f*ck Costa.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
