Khamzat Chimaev says he is not bothered by fans calling him inactive. Ahead of his first middleweight title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, Chimaev said he is making millions and no longer depends only on the UFC paycheck tied to each fight. His explanation also drops while money outside the cage remains part of the wider UFC business discussion, including the latest debate around contracts and pay.
Chimaev fought three times in 2020 and quickly built a reputation for activity. That pace did not last as his career moved toward title fights. He said it directly.
“I don’t care.”
“I’m making millions. These people are just talking and doing nothing.”
“Like, if you do your work, I don’t need to go and watch you and [judge you] on how you do, how often you work out, how much you get. I care about myself, how much I make, and how much I fight.”
The source clip is below.
Khamzat Chimaev says he doesn’t care about people calling him an inactive champion 😬
“I don’t care. I make millions. These people are just talking and doing nothing.
I make more money out of the UFC… wherever I go, people want to sponsor, they want to do different things… pic.twitter.com/GPrBooWKPx
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 6, 2026
Khamzat Chimaev’s rise changed the money and the schedule
Chimaev also said his biggest earnings are no longer tied only to his UFC contract.
“I was living in a gym, and now, I’m living the dream.”
“I make more money outside of the UFC because of who I’ve become.”
“Wherever I go, people want to sponsor me, they want to do different things with me, and send me things.”
There is real fight history behind why fans keep pressing him on this. Chimaev is the UFC middleweight champion, and his recent run includes two of the biggest wins of his career. He submitted Robert Whittaker, then beat Dricus Du Plessis to win the belt. He is now set to defend that title against Strickland at UFC 328.
At the same time, his activity has not matched the pace fans expected after his 2020 breakout. Injuries and travel complications have both affected how often he could compete, and his schedule now gets watched through the lens of title defenses, contender movement, and how often the top names actually fight. That is part of why every update around champions and high-profile names, from lightweight title talk around Arman Tsarukyan to other major UFC headlines, keeps feeding the larger activity debate.
Chimaev says he no longer relies only on UFC fight purses because his name now brings in money outside the cage. If fans want him to fight more often, he is making it clear that criticism alone will not change how he views his schedule. With top fighters staying in headlines between appearances, he is clearly treating his value as something bigger than how often he competes.
