Khamzat Chimaev will defend his UFC middleweight crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 and a teammate of the reigning titleholder has offered insight into the match up. Alex Chizov is the combatant in question and the training partner of ‘Borz’ will soon fight a teammate of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Chizov clashes with Gadzhi Rabadanov in the co-main event of  PFL Sioux Falls on May 2nd.

When asked how he sees his champion teammate getting it done in that Sean Strickland fight coming up, Chizov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yes, Sean Strickland is a great fighter, all respect to him. But I just don’t see a chance for him. Like I think Khamzat, this fight will be something similar like it was against [Dricus] du Plessis. Like I just don’t see [how] Sean can stop his pressure wrestling. So I will think it; like for me personal, it’s a mismatch because like I just don’t see Sean winning this. Of course, [a] fight is a fight and everything can happen. But I think today, nobody can stop Khamzat.”

Khamzat Chimaev blasts Ronda Rousey for commenting on UFC fighter pay

Khamzat Chimaev did not seem too pleased with the recent comments made by Ronda Rousey in regards to UFC athlete pay dynamics. Rousey returns to the sport on May 16th as the former UFC and Strikeforce champion battles a pioneering figure for women in mixed martial arts, Gina Carano, on the MVP MMA Netflix card. Addressing this subject matter during a prior press conference in New York to promote the cross generational bout, Rousey quipped,

“I think it’s really important that we raise the ceiling, but also raise the floor. One thing that I’m really proud of on this card is that the absolute minimum anybody will walk away with, even if they don’t have a big, long record, and even if they lose, it’s $40,000. If you fight 3 times a year, that is much more than a living wage. That’s something the UFC cannot say… And I hope that after this event, we can continue to raise that ceiling higher and higher until it is on par with the highest-level boxers.”

Responding to those comments made by the returning MMA superstar, Chimaev stated [via Wrestling Inc.]

“There never would have been Ronda Rousey without UFC. I hate this, like you’re ungrateful. If they pay good or they don’t pay good, who cares? When she was Olympic champ, what did she make then?”