Nate Diaz Claps Back At Sean Strickland And Khamzat Chimaev For “Faking” UFC 328 Beef
Nate Diaz has called out Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev after their heated UFC 328 rivalry suddenly turned respectful once the fight was over.
The build-up to UFC 328 was one of the most controversial in recent UFC history. The two middleweights exchanged personal insults for weeks, with the rivalry escalating far beyond normal trash talk. During press conferences and interviews, Strickland made comments targeting Chimaev’s religion and refugee background, while Chimaev mocked Strickland’s past trauma involving his abusive father.
Things became even more heated during their face-off before the event when Chimaev kicked Strickland, forcing security to step in as the two fighters tried to get at each other. Because of that intense build-up, many fans expected genuine bad blood inside the cage at UFC 328. Instead, the atmosphere changed almost immediately once the fight started.
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Respect After the Fight Sparked Backlash
Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision to reclaim the UFC middleweight title and hand Chimaev the first loss of his professional MMA career. But what grabbed almost as much attention as the fight itself was what happened afterward.
Despite weeks of hostility, both fighters showed mutual respect once the bout ended. Chimaev wrapped the championship belt around Strickland’s waist inside the cage, while Strickland later praised Chimaev publicly and suggested much of the rivalry had simply been part of promoting the fight.
Strickland even admitted afterward that he was “selling fights” and described Chimaev as “a good dude.” That sudden shift is exactly what annoyed Nate Diaz.
During a recent face-to-face interview with Mike Perry, Diaz criticized both men and accused them of creating artificial drama to sell pay-per-views.
“Hugging and showing love like some bitches. Fake f*cking puppets. I’m f*cking cool off that sht. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I was bullshtting everybody.”
Diaz argued that if fighters truly dislike each other, they should keep that same energy after the fight rather than immediately becoming friendly once the cameras are rolling differently.
The comments sparked huge debate across MMA social media. Some fans agreed with Diaz and felt the UFC 328 rivalry now looked exaggerated after the post-fight respect between the two fighters. Others defended Strickland and Chimaev, arguing that fighters often gain mutual respect after spending 25 minutes fighting each other in the Octagon.
Either way, the situation once again highlighted the blurred line between real hatred and fight promotion in modern MMA. UFC 328 had all the ingredients of a genuine grudge match before fight night, but once the cage door closed, the rivalry suddenly looked very different.
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