Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland are set to headline UFC 328 on May 9, and the tension between them has been heating up fast. Strickland recently took things to a new level by making violent threats, but according to Chimaev's coach, Alan "Finfou" Nascimento, the middleweight champion isn't losing any sleep over it.

During a media scrum on Wednesday, Strickland warned that if he and Chimaev cross paths during fight week in New Jersey, "I'm going to pull my gun out and I'm going to shoot him." Nascimento shrugged off the comments, telling MMA Fighting that it's just "Sean Strickland being Sean Strickland."

"When you're prepared for something and you know it's coming, it doesn't surprise you anymore," Nascimento explained. "Khamzat Chimaev hadn't even seen it. It was only this morning that we showed him what Sean Strickland had been saying. He watched it, laughed, and we went straight to training."

Chimaev's camp has been anticipating this kind of rhetoric ever since the fight started coming together. Nascimento noted that his fighter is handling the pressure exceptionally well, staying focused on preparation rather than getting caught up in the drama.

The UFC has a media day scheduled for Chimaev on Thursday, and Nascimento expects his fighter to fire back with some playful jabs of his own. "That's part of the game, right?" he said. "But this whole thing of 'I'm going to shoot him' and all that, I think that's just nonsense. Nobody is going to take things to that level. It doesn't make sense."

Nascimento, who has coached Chimaev since his professional debut, acknowledged that trash talk has become an accepted part of modern MMA. "Everyone is going to use whatever they can to try to destabilize the other person," he said. "Even if they talk about things that, from my point of view, I wouldn't do. I don't think it's a man's move when you bring up family, kids, you know? But if that's what's available, then everyone's going to use it."

With decades of experience in martial arts, Nascimento knows how to keep his fighters focused. "My role is simply to talk to my athlete and make sure he's locked in," he said. "Distractions are part of the sport, but Khamzat is ready. We've been preparing for this for a long time."

As fight night approaches, fans can expect more fireworks between these two competitors. But for now, Chimaev is keeping his cool—and his eyes on the prize.