Sean Strickland: Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev a ‘bullsh*t fight,’ UFC needs to cut Paulo Costa
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 Costa has withdrawn from several bouts in the past.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.
