Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev are ready to throw down at UFC 328—whether inside the Octagon or out. With the middleweight title on the line this Saturday in Newark, N.J., tensions have boiled over during fight week, and Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, is hoping cooler heads prevail before the cage door locks.

The buildup to this grudge match has been anything but calm. It started with sparring stories and escalated to UFC CEO Dana White banning the two fighters from staying in the same hotel. Now both men have openly said they're prepared to brawl—and worse—if things get heated before fight night. But Nicksick, speaking to MMA Fighting, offered a grounded perspective: “They’re not gonna make any money doing it that way. You guys have a fight for money, you both are prizefighters, go make your money. I hope it’s quite the latter. I hope that they fight, but may the best man win, and maybe eventually we can all get back to training with each other once again.”

Strickland earned his title shot with a sensational finish against Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in February, and he’s hungry to become a two-time champion. Despite the heated exchanges, Nicksick says the fire hasn’t changed his fighter’s approach. “Not really. I think business as usual. There’s probably a little bit more heat behind it because of the bulletin board talking and everything else. But for the most part, I think it’s business as usual for Sean in this fight.”

On the other side, Chimaev captured his first title with a dominant decision win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 last August. The undefeated “Borz” has impressed at both middleweight and welterweight, and Nicksick admits his past dealings with Chimaev have been nothing but positive—even since the fight was booked. This clash of styles and personalities promises to be one of the most intense matchups of the year.