Before Sean Strickland booked his June 1 clash with Paulo Costa, the UFC was looking to book a bout between the former middleweight world champion and undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, told James Lynch during a recent interview that the promotion was targeting a fight between the two at UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22 before pivoting to Costa. According to Nicksick, the fight was scrapped due to travel-related issues on Strickland’s side.
“I know they [UFC] were hoping for maybe Khamzat, but I don’t think Sean can travel to Saudi Arabia or something; I’m not 100% sure,” Nicksick said.