Khamzat Chimaev weighs in on Sean Strickland’s UFC pay issues with fight offer of his own

Khamzat Chimaev has attempted to hijack Sean Strickland’s next fight with a fight offer of his own.

Ever since his title loss to Sean Strickland earlier this year, Khamzat Chimaev has been attempting to secure an immediate rematch against his American rival.

His plans were recently thwarted, though, when Strickland confirmed he’ll fight Nassourdine Imavov next, and he was planning on that fight coming before the end of 2026.

Despite that, his plans have now capitulated as the premier promotion announced their final main event of the year this past Saturday, and Strickland isn’t part of it.

Reports suggest the UFC are offering him $400k show and $400k win, while he wants more.

Strickland explained why he’s not fighting at UFC 335, stating that he and the promotion currently disagree with each other regarding his purse.

That led to Imavov offering Strickland $500,000 to take the fight with January now being the most likely date for the pair to rematch for the middleweight title. Despite that, though, ‘Borz’ is attempting to hijack the fight by making an offer of his own to the American champion.

“Strickland I will pay you one (lemon). Send me location and let’s fight, I don’t care if it’s inside out outside of the cage,” Chimaev said in a post on social media.

The Chechen has been having problems with the UFC of his own, as he recently stated his disappointment that they haven’t found him a fight. Despite wanting a rematch against Strickland, ‘Borz’ claimed that he would be willing to fight another contender, but the promotion hasn’t found him one.

That now means Chimaev will take a break from the UFC as he revealed he will use the time on the sidelines to recover from some ongoing injuries. He won’t be completely inactive from combat sports, though, as he is set to compete for a title outside of the UFC.

Chimaev takes on Colby Covington at RAF Abu Dhabi for the RAF Crossover title on November 14, in an event that clashes with UFC 334. The 32-year-old has already competed on the RAF wrestling mats three times since his last UFC fight against Strickland, winning on all three occasions.

And before he takes on ‘Chaos’ Covington, he will wrestle UFC legend Robbie Lawler at RAF 14, on an event that is headlined by Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dillon Danis.