On May 9th, Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland will collide in Newark, New Jersey, to settle their grudge match. Because of his dominance, ‘Borz’ definitely holds the edge in the matchup, posing serious threats to ‘Tarzan’. But as the former 185 lbs champ’s team appears to be prepared for the challenge, Strickland’s coach fears that another threat in the form of a possible altercation may come their way.

The Nevada native’s longtime coach, Erick Nicksick, expects that both fighters will remain calm and professional ahead of UFC 328 fight week. However, the Xtreme Couture coach worries that a Chimaev supporter from the crowd might turn things ugly against Strickland as their rivalry intensifies.

“God knows. God knows,” Nicksick told Submission Radio. “I mean, they’re gonna get paid to fight, so you might as well save it for the fight, you know? To be honest with you, I think Khamzat and Sean will be professional in that regard. I’d worry about the entourage. You know what I mean?

Like, somebody that’s in the crowd or something like that, they see Sean. That’s how these guys try to make a name for themselves, you know? I just don’t see Khamzat risking losing his paycheck. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Well, UFC fans are well aware of how personal the UFC 328 headliners’ rivalry has become, but that didn’t stop Strickland from adding more fuel to the fire. Recently, the former champ fired shots at Khamzat Chimaev for not fighting on the White House card, calling him a t—st. So, although Nicksick expects the fighters to remain professional, the chances of an altercation will always loom, especially with ‘Borz,’ who allegedly got into a scuffle at a Dubai airport.

Recently, a USAF veteran named Rich Patterson posted about an interaction with Chimaev that turned ugly. The post claimed that the reigning middleweight champion allegedly kicked him in the chest when he tried to get a photo. As the legitimacy of this incident is being checked, some UFC fighters have also shared accounts of unexpected altercations.

At UFC Qatar last year, Chimaev also confronted Ian Garry after the Irishman tried to congratulate his teammate Arman Tsarukyan on his victory over Dan Hooker. On that note, there’s a chance that ‘Tarzan’ and ‘Borz’ could end up sharing heated moments before the New Jersey fight.

Even though ‘Borz’ hasn’t particularly confronted many fighters other than Gerald Meerschaert, there’s always a possibility of something similar to when Dillon Danis got beaten up by Islam Makhachev’s teammates at UFC 322 over past comments.

Now, with emotions running high, the reality of a possible melee remains in bad-blood clashes like this. With that in mind, Strickland’s coach also gave insight into how the actual fight may turn out.

Erick Nicksick on how Sean Strickland vs Khamzat Chimaev might play out

The UFC 328 headliner in New Jersey promises another classic wrestling vs striking matchup, and Khamzat Chimaev currently leads the odds. The reason for this is that fans continue to back his impeccable wrestling edge that no one has managed to dismantle. However, ‘Tarzan’s coach, Erick Nicksick, believes his team can win the positional battle and potentially contain the middleweight champion.

“The reality of it is, I think with both their styles, yes, I do, but you just never know,” Nicksick told Ariel Helwani. “In this sport, in MMA, one wrong move or you can get knocked out, or you can get submitted, or whatever it may be. “So, I think for us, it’s realizing and forming a game plan to keep our guy in the best positions to win. That’s going to be the focal point.

“We can’t be putting ourselves on the cage and we can’t be stuck in these positions because this guy is just a wet blanket, man. He’s going to stay on you, and he’s going to be constantly mat returning and re-wrestling. So, space is going to be the priority for us.”

At UFC 319, fans thought Dricus du Plessis might be able to neutralize Chimaev’s grappling with his unorthodox striking. But ‘Borz’ dominated the South African for 25 minutes, racking up over 21 minutes of control time. Can Strickland crack the code? We’ll find out soon, but timing takedowns on the Nevada native might be a little tough because of the Philly shell stance.

That said, who do you think takes the victory at UFC 328? Will Sean Strickland become the first man to beat Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments section below.