"He has to be afraid" - Khamzat Chimaev discusses Sean Strickland's decision not to engage with him on Palestine issue

Khamzat Chimaev has accused Sean Strickland of being afraid of him. That's after the UFC middleweight champion seemingly decided not to engage with him on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Since the conflict began, fighters such as Chimaev and Belal Muhammad have expressed their support for Palestine and regularly called for peace and prayers for those being affected.

Strickland, however, took issue with Muhammad's statement and called out 'Remember the Name' last year. According to 'Tarzan', the welterweight contender's response to the conflict was "cowardly."

He tweeted:

"This is what you'd call a coward response. Instead of taking a stand against terrorism and advocating for a peaceful resolution, you say this dumb sh*t...Ignoring what just happened. Belal you were born in America, you live in America just shut the f*ck up."

Check out the tweets here:

Recently, 'Borz' was interviewed by Mohammed Hijab and asked to weigh in on Strickland's response to Muhammad's tweet.

According to Chimaev, who has shared similar posts on social media to Muhammad, the reason he wasn't also targeted by Strickland is because he's afraid of him:

"I don't know man, he has to be afraid and be terrified. We'll fight with everyone, as the fights in the cage aren't that big a thing, you know? If we can make some people happy who are going through hard times, Muslims, all Muslims watching us, Khabib or Belal. We know the kids are watching and want to be like us. Sean Strickland and all these guys, they should be afraid of us."

Catch Khamzat Chimaev's comments here (5:20):

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Michael Bisping wants to see Khamzat Chimaev face Israel Adesanya next

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has called for a bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Israel Adesanya to settle the next contender for the title.

Chimaev returned to the octagon at UFC 294 last year when he faced Kamaru Usman, who was stepping in for Paul Costa. Their bout took place at 185 pounds and after an entertaining contest, Chimaev was given the nod via majority decision.

In the latest episode of Bisping's Believe You Me podcast, himself and guest host Laura Sanko discussed the future of the middleweight division.

Sanko noted that she wants to see Adesanya face the winner of Strickland's upcoming title defence against Dricus Du Plessis, whereas 'The Count' called for Chimaev to face Adesanya on his return. He said:

A lot of people say I defend Izzy all the time, which is nonsense. I just call it like I see it... Does he get an immediate title fight? I mean, I understand if Dricus wins, there's history with Dricus. If Sean wins, there's a rematch there. I say, they go Izzy' versus Khamzat Chimaev. The winner gets to fight for the belt."

Catch Bisping's comments here (21:10):