Some rivalries within the UFC are manufactured and others function such disdain between the fighters that the promotion has to plan forward to attempt and curb any potential violence. It’s protected to say the UFC 328 primary occasion between middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland falls into that latter class.
The dangerous blood between Chimaev and Strickland is famous at this level and that’s going to require the UFC to put measures in place to guarantee these two don’t get right into a brawl simply days earlier than the occasion. So UFC CEO Dana White says the promotion is already planning to beef up safety in each manner, form and type doable to keep Chimaev and Strickland separated throughout battle week.
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That consists of nixing the latest addition of a pre-fight faceoff staged by Paramount that’s used to hype up an occasion however White doesn’t need Chimaev and Strickland wherever close to one another.
“I hope somebody told them [that isn’t happening],” White advised Spinnin’ Backfist about informing Paramount about no fight-week faceoff between Chimaev and Strickland. “Because that is the case. Because that is a fact.
“No bullshit, we’re going to beef up security and law enforcement and everything. All of it. Hotels, bumping into each other, all that [kind of stuff].”
As White eluded to there, the UFC additionally plans to put Chimaev and Strickland into separate resorts simply to reduce down on any threat they may stumble upon one another within the foyer, elevators or wherever else the place an encounter might probably erupt into mayhem.
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“Definitely [putting them in separate hotels],” White stated. “That’s definitely going to happen.”
Of course, the UFC has discovered a beneficial lesson about these sorts of rivalries previously, particularly after Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz began launching full soda cans at one another throughout a pre-fight press convention. That led to the UFC truly emptying all cans positioned on stage simply to stop one other altercation like that from occurring.
Despite their finest efforts, UFC safety has undoubtedly been examined — together with McGregor attacking a bus crammed with fighters in an try to get to Khabib Nurmagomedov. After Nurmagomedov tapped out McGregor after they truly fought, the undefeated Russian leapt over the cage and attacked Dillon Danis, who was cornering the Irish famous person that evening.
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Also who might overlook Strickland truly diving over a number of rows of followers and fighters to attempt and battle Dricus du Plessis at an occasion earlier than they met for the primary time.
In different phrases, the UFC has a whole lot of work to do to stop Chimaev and Strickland from punching one another earlier than assembly in the primary occasion in New Jersey on May 9.
