The UFC has promoted heated rivalries before. It has built entire pay-per-views around personal hatred, emotional instability, and the promise that two men genuinely want to hurt one another.
But, the UFC 328 press conference in Newark felt different, from the very moment it began.
At the center of the chaos stood Sean Strickland (30-7-0) and Khamzat Chimaev (15-0-0), two fighters who spent nearly the entire press conference interrupting, insulting, and daring one another to escalate things further. At the conclusion, the event eventually turned physical when Chimaev kicked Strickland during the final faceoff, forcing security to intervene as the stage descended into disorder.
Andrew Carswell is a combat sports columnist and college writing professor, based in Las Vegas, NV, whose work examines the intersection of fighting, media, business, and culture. His commentary and analysis have been featured in various magazines, newspapers, and media outlets, including Yahoo! News, and USA TODAY. Blending journalistic insight and experience with a fan’s perspective, Carswell writes about the fight game as both a cultural phenomenon and a global business.
