Chael Sonnen shares “Nasty” text Sean Strickland sent him immediately after Khamzat Chimaev’s win at UFC 308

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland sent a scathing message to Chael Sonnen aimed at UFC 308 winner Khamzat Chimaev immediately after his No. 1 contender fight.

Chimaev earned the biggest win of his career by submitting former titleholder Robert Whittaker by face-crank in the UFC 308 co-main event. He remains undefeated in his career and cemented himself as a top middleweight contender with the victory.

Strickland, who is gunning for a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, immediately told Chimaev he’s the next man up in a social media post. Strickland most recently defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June.

But, while Strickland’s initial reaction seemed harmless, he took things a few steps further in a conversation with Sonnen.

Sean Strickland sent Chael Sonnen a “Nasty” text in reaction to Khamzat Chimaev’s win

In a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen shared the text he received from Strickland during UFC 308.

“‘I’m next in line, it’s been said and it’s been written,” Strickland texted Sonnen. “‘After I beat Dricus [Du Plessis] up, Chimaev can step up. And to the point that Chimaev is a contender, I welcome that, but I have Dricus next. The man who scammed his fans, became friends with a dictator, and had to flee his homeland while staying on the run, needs to tighten his own leash up a little bit…

“Hey Chimaev, sit down, and wait your turn.’ That is from the former champion Sean Strickland and that was a quote.”

As of this writing, Chimaev hasn’t responded to Strickland’s remarks. The two briefly trained together earlier in their UFC careers.

The dictator that Strickland referred to above is Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chimaev’s native Chechnya. He and Chimaev had a close relationship, a relationship that has come under intense scrutiny due to Kadyrov’s various controversies while in power.

Du Plessis defeated Strickland by split decision at UFC 297 in the first pay-per-view headliner of 2024. The champion has gone on to defeat Israel Adesanya in a successful first title defense since the first Strickland fight.

The debate rages, especially after UFC 308, of who deserves the next middleweight title shot. While Strickland is the likely next title challenger, Chimaev has a strong case, and the two could be on a collision course soon.