Strickland's coach: 'UFC wanted to put Shawn and Chimayev together'

"I know the UFC wanted to put Shawn together with Chimaev. But I'm not sure if Shawn has the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia. But I know that Hamzat's name has been discussed as a possible opponent. Chimaev is a big star in Saudi Arabia. And here it was the venue itself that mattered more than the name of the opponent for Hamzat," Sportskeeda quoted Nixik as saying.

Recall that Strickland will share the octagon with Paulo Costa on June 1 at UFC 302 in Newark, USA. As for Chimaev, he will fight Robert Whittaker in the main event of the debut show in Saudi Arabia on June 22.