Brendan Allen and Sean Strickland have a history that goes back six years, and while their fighting careers are on very different tracks right now, that hasn't stopped them from reigniting a fiery war of words. Strickland is gearing up to challenge undefeated middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328 this Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, and Allen has been right in the thick of it as part of Chimaev's training camp. The bad blood between Strickland and Chimaev has been boiling over all week, with both fighters trading threats of violence inside and outside the Octagon. But Allen isn't buying into Strickland's tough talk.

"Talk is talk," Allen told Submission Radio. "Sean's that kind of guy. I'd kill him in a press conference, though. I'd make him freak out for sure. For sure, it wouldn't even be close. I'm just a guy, when you open up with words, I'm trying to kill you with those words. I'm trying to make you eat everything." Allen went on to explain that while he's all for a good back-and-forth, once a fight is signed, the talking should stop. "We can talk all day, but as soon as we sign the fight, we know we're going to fight. There's not much to be said at that point."

This isn't the first time these two have crossed paths. Allen and Strickland faced off at a UFC APEX event back in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no fans in the stands and strict restrictions in place, there wasn't much room for trash talk leading up to the bout. That night, Strickland got the upper hand, finishing Allen by second-round knockout. Fast forward to today, and the dynamic has shifted dramatically. Allen is now part of Chimaev's inner circle, and he's had a front-row seat to how the champion's team handles Strickland's provocations.

"We just laugh," Allen said. "He just sounds so ridiculous. All he wants to do is get an emotional reaction out of people and it's just like, alright bro, y'all are going to fight on Saturday, see if you're talking all that shit then because you wasn't talking that shit when y'all trained. You were screaming across the room to [coach] Eric [Nicksick]."

With just days to go before the big showdown, the tension is at an all-time high. Whether Strickland can back up his words against Chimaev remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure—Allen isn't backing down from adding fuel to the fire.