Dana White reveals plans to keep Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland separated until UFC 328

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 20: Sean Strickland is interviewed after facing off against Anthony Hernandez during the UFC Fight Night ceremonial weigh-in at Toyota Center on February 20, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Some rivalries in the UFC are manufactured and others feature such disdain between the fighters that the promotion has to plan ahead to try and curb any potential violence. It’s safe to say the UFC 328 main event between middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland falls into that latter category.

The bad blood between Chimaev and Strickland is legendary at this point and that’s going to require the UFC to put measures in place to ensure these two don’t get into a brawl just days before the event. So UFC CEO Dana White says the promotion is already planning to beef up security in every way, shape and form possible to keep Chimaev and Strickland separated during fight week. That includes nixing the recent addition of a pre-fight faceoff staged by Paramount that is used to hype up an event but White doesn’t want Chimaev and Strickland anywhere near each other.

“I hope somebody told them [that isn’t happening],” White told 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].