Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland press conference descends into chaos as police and security forced to intervene after kick

Khamzat Chimaev kicked Sean Strickland during their face off ahead of UFC 328, prompting security to scramble the fighters away from each other.

The duo are set to headline the latest UFC card, which is set to be held in New Jersey this weekend.

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The UFC Middleweight title is on the line as Chimaev looks to defend his belt for the first time since beating Dircus du Plessis in a record-breaking performance, and if the face-off is anything to go by, things are going to be brutal.

After words were exchanged, Chimaev clearly launched his foot at the American MMA star.

This saw security immediately step in and drag Chimaev away, with Strickland having to be physically restrained from reaching his opponent.

More and more security piled onto the stage to keep the pair separated as Dana White watched on.

The duo were dragged to opposite ends of the stage, with Strickland trying his best to charge through a bunch of security guards and Chimaev was still mouthing off as he was escorted away.

Eventually, Strickland calmed down and could be seen mouthing towards Chimaev before the security teams got both men off stage.

The duo are former training partners but are now bitter rivals, stemming from Strickland branding Chimaev a ‘terrorist’ due to being a practicing Muslim born in Russia.

Tensions had been building during the press conferences that were filled with plenty of expletives.

Despite this, White still signed off on the face-off going down, and Chimaev kicked Strickland when the American said: “You’re not gonna do s***.’

As well as security, police had to get involved as well.

And after the clash, Chimaev said: “He can try whatever he wants to try, but it’s not going to work with me.

“I see him only doing like jab, jab, right hand, jab. So, if we do just a boxing fight, I can beat this guy up.

“But, I never think about my opponent’s style. Why should I think about what he’s going to do?

“He has only one thing. Just hope. You see UFC 328, going to go there to smash that guy.”

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Carnage

The hatred between these two men is very deep, and the verbal stuff has been going on for quite some time.

At one point, Chimaev claimed he couldn’t promise not to kill Strickland if he met him in the streets.

To which the American said: “I was on Instagram and some stupid s*** popped up in my feed about Chimaev saying he’ll try to fight me or kill me in the streets.

“I was like ten minutes from [Chimaev’s] gym. I was dropping tags and locations all day on my Instagram.

“The homies that train with you follow me. They were seeing my stories. You had to know where I was at.

“Part of me thought you’d show up… I’m like the last dude in America you should threaten, but I guess if you don’t show up, you don’t show up.”