Sean Strickland fired back at Ariel Helwani after Helwani criticized how Strickland handled the aftermath of his UFC 328 fight with Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland responded after Helwani said the former middleweight champion could not take the pre-fight talk into personal territory and then brush it off as promotion once the fight was over. Strickland’s answer was not exactly a handshake and a fruit basket.
Source tweets:
He personally thanked me once for standing up for Israel during the 7th attacks. I stand by that…. over the course of it my views dramatically changed. It went from hostage rescue to collective punishment aimed at women and children. I would say without a doubt that the aipac… https://t.co/nqx8d6Tav0
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) May 11, 2026
https://x.com/ChampRDS/status/2053936449708323124
Strickland Fires Back At Helwani
Strickland’s later post referenced Israel and said his own views changed over time.
“He personally thanked me once for standing up for Israel during the 7th attacks. I stand by that…. over the course of it my views dramatically changed. It went from hostage rescue to collective punishment aimed at women and children. I would say without a doubt that the aipac joke may of rubbed him the wrong way from how much he said ‘israel support mattered to him’… so again you are a weak man who I will continue to avoid,” Strickland wrote.
Strickland also included his earlier message ripping Helwani directly while defending the respect he and Chimaev showed after the fight.
“This is why I dont do media with him. You are a leech who I’ve never respected. The moment I met this man I knew his quality. End of the day the hatred between was real, what he said about me was wrong, what I said about himwas wrong. This what hate and anger does to people and it still might be there but we earned each other’s respect through blood and I would never expect a man of his quality to understand that.. You are and will always be a pathetic MMA leech who has done nothing besides criticizing men who are better than yourself,” Strickland wrote.
In the Championship Rounds clip, Helwani said Strickland’s fight-week language about Chimaev went too far to be dismissed afterward. The debate now sits next to the wider UFC 328 fallout, including Eric Nicksick explaining how Strickland beat Chimaev.
“What Sean was saying at that press conference was crossing line,” Helwani said. “What Khamzat did was dirty. You can’t kick a guy that you’re about to fight in the balls before, but he was so emotional, he was so upset that he was led to doing that.”
Helwani said he initially gave Strickland credit for standing behind the trash talk during fight week.
“I think that Sean won that and credit to him,” Helwani said. “He stood there and he, as they say, stood on business, right? He did not backtrack at all face to face with this guy. He did not backtrack. He even went online afterwards.”
Helwani Says Strickland’s Post-Fight Explanation Did Not Match The Build-Up
Helwani’s issue was Strickland saying after the fight that the build-up was for promotion.
“You didn’t just talk about your opponent and say he sucks, I hate him, he’s this, that, and the other,” Helwani said. “You talked about his religion. You talked about his mom. You talked about his family. You win that fight and tell the world that was all for show, that was all for promotion. That is the biggest bunch of bullshit that I’ve ever heard. That is fraud. That is cowardly shit.”
Helwani said Strickland could not say what he said before UFC 328 and then soften it seconds after the fight.
“You cannot do what he did and say what he did in the build-up to that fight and then tell us seconds after the fight is over, I was just trying to sell the fight,” Helwani said. “You can’t do that. You cannot walk that back.”
He pointed to the personal nature of the remarks.
“That’s family,” Helwani said. “You called his mother a whore. You called his religion awful things. That doesn’t go away. I’m sorry and all that tells me is you’re not who you say you are.”
Helwani said Strickland’s fight-week tone looked real because Strickland said it directly and did not back away from it before the fight.
“I thought on Thursday and Friday, he is exactly who he says he is because he stood there and said it all from his chest,” Helwani said.
He compared the situation to rivalries that never turned friendly.
“You think Conor and Khabib are ever doing that ever till the end of time?” Helwani said. “You think Jones and DC are ever doing that? Never.”
Helwani said Strickland and Chimaev took the fight into an ugly place, then changed the tone afterward.
“These two guys went back and forth and took this sport and their fight into the gutter and then afterwards we’re doing the Kumbaya thing, putting the belt. No,” Helwani said.
Helwani rejected the idea that a 25-minute fight explained the immediate shift.
“Excuse me. That wasn’t your debut,” Helwani said. “You know what that feeling is like. You know what that phenomenon is like, sharing the cage with another human being. You know what happens and yet you still spoke about him that way.”
Helwani said Strickland either meant the pre-fight comments or took fans into a dark place and then backed away from it.
“Either you’re lying about everything you said, but you took us to a very dark, deep, disgusting place and you know what, fine, that’s how you feel,” Helwani said. “And then you tell us in the immediate aftermath, I didn’t mean any of that, I apologize guys.”
Helwani said he found the walkback weak.
“You don’t get to say that about someone’s religion and parents and mom and then apologize,” Helwani said. “I felt that that was so weak. I felt that that was so disappointing.”
Helwani closed by saying he had nothing personal against Strickland.
“Look, I have nothing against Sean,” Helwani said. “I like Sean. In fact, I told his team long before all this, I think Sean and I have some things in common. That was BS, okay, that was disappointing.”
The exchange adds another layer to the UFC 328 fallout after Dustin Poirier said Chimaev’s aura took a hit.
