Khabib Nurmagomedov Tells Sneako ‘To Call Him’ Next Time Sean Strickland Wants to Fight

Sparring, wrestling, and crossover events between celebrities and professional fighters are becoming increasingly frequent in the age of social media. 

However, Sneako's sparring pairing with UFC star Sean Strickland in 2024 for sparring drew criticism for its extreme nature. Khabib had a similar reaction recently. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov Reacts to Sneako vs. Sean Strickland Sparring

The American live streamer and social media personality recently came face to face with the ex-UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at an event. 

Sneako showed the Dagestani a photo of him and Strickland from the session. Khabib immediately responded, “That's you? What are you doing? Why would you do that? You need to fight him in debate. Don't fight him in octagon. You fight them in your world, not his world.” 

The 27-year-old explained that the collaboration had an agreement attached; Strickland had promised to interview if they sparred. 

However, Khabib didn’t agree with the logic, but offered to help Sneako. He said, “This is why you don't train. If you need to fight Strickland, give me a call. Next time Strickland comes, give me a call when it comes to debate. You need to get knowledge in debate. This is your fight. This is my fight. I have muscle… you need knowledge.”

The 2024 sparring event certainly drew the attention of the fighting community, though unfortunately not for positive reasons. Consequently, it's unlikely to be repeated. However, nothing can be definitively said about the social media age. 

What happened between Sneako and Sean Strickland?

Weeks after losing his middleweight belt to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, Sean Strickland invited Sneako to spar at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas in February 2024. 

Sneako stated that he was 160 pounds inside the cage at the time, whereas the UFC fighter was 230 pounds.  

The session was live-streamed as Strickland delivered flush left punches that bled Sneako. As a response, Sneako's Corner began tossing towels into the cage. Finally, the bout was called off as UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin waved it off. 

Despite the heavy shots, Sneako didn’t go down, and Strickland raised his hands as a sign of respect. But the experience gap and weight difference were clearly visible.