Chael Sonnen said he doesn’t know if Sean Strickland was exaggerating when he said he would shoot UFC rival Khamzat Chimaev. 

Chimaev will make the first defense of his UFC Middleweight Championship against the former champion, Strickland, this weekend at UFC 328. And, as the fight game entails, the two had gotten stuck into the verbal back-and-forth well before their fight had even been confirmed. 

Inevitably as the threats got a little more real a question turned to what would happen if they met in real life, to which Strickland said he would shoot Chimaev. But while many have taken that to be fighters’ hyperbole, Hall of Famer Sonnen said to Ariel Helwani that he is not entirely convinced that is the case. 

“By the way, I don’t know that he was kidding around,” he said. “He is somebody that practices his Second Amendment rights, he does have a concealed carry, he is trained with a weapon. I don’t know that Sean was joking but I don’t like the theme of that.”

In any case, Sonnen is not a fan of the way things took a turn in the build-up, with Chimaev and Strickland limited in what they can do ahead of this weekend and under increased security. 

“I wish that Strickland wouldn’t have said he was going to shoot him. Because that does stop the playfulness,” he said. “I just feel like we escalated a little heavily.” 

WWE has always seemed to pride itself on big, unpredictable moments, but in 2026, some fans may think those moments are now few and far between. Major titles, like the World Heavyweight Championship, rarely change hands anywhere outside of premium live events, even if a star is hot, like Bron Breakker or Oba Femi. Bully Ray said on “Busted Open Radio” he believes WWE should have capitalized much quicker on Femi, following his victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

“When was the last time that pro wrestling really went all in on a gut feeling?” he asked. “Should Oba Femi have been that all in guy? Maybe they are going to go all in, maybe at SummerSlam, and they’re just stretching it, but there’s something about Oba, if I’m sitting in the room I would have already said this, ‘Pull the trigger now and if it doesn’t work, we can get back on track.'”

Bully Ray said that the company should have capitalized after Femi name-dropped Reigns in the post-show press conference. He said that Femi should have opened the “WWE Raw” after WrestleMania, and Reigns should have challenged him to a title match that night.

“Could you imagine if Oba Femi beat Roman Reigns later that night for the championship?” he said. “There’s your moment… Because Oba beating Brock, we all saw it coming. What we didn’t see coming was the retirement.”

Bully Ray said that Femi is a faster-rising star than Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton or even John Cena. The only person who caught on quicker, he said, was Hulk Hogan, and if Femi is being mentioned in the same breath as Hogan, the odds tell him to “go all in.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Khamzat Chimaev called Sean Strickland’s bluff on shooting him ahead of UFC 328 this weekend. 

Chimaev will make the first defense of his UFC Middleweight Championship on Saturday against a former champion in Strickland, in a rivalry that has grown as the weeks have gone on. Strickland has called Chimaev a terrorist and threatened to shoot him should their rivalry ever spill outside of the UFC. 

But speaking ahead of the fight in a media scrum (via “MMA Junkie”), Chimaev welcomed the threats with little care. 

“Let him come,” he said. “I think they took him to some other hotels, or maybe he do [that] himself. I don’t know. I try to find the guy, that’s not so much personal. The guy just talk too much.”

He was pushed specifically as it pertains to the shooting threats and if he was concerned anything would happen before the fight. 

“I don’t think it’s possible to happen because they don’t let me see this guy, man. I don’t know. Where is he? I’ve been here three days in the lobby and the guy said he’s gonna shoot me. So, let’s go do that. I would be happy to die.”

Chimaev maintained that the increased security was for Strickland’s safety rather than his own, but as the questioning went on he let out a little bit of animosity for his opponent: “Do you think I care what he says? I don’t know, when his time comes to die, I will be happy.”

When asked if there were any concerns that their animosity could spread to those in attendance and around the event, he said, “I don’t need to control the people. They need to control themselves. So I’m here focused for my training, for my camp, take my money.”

During the April 27 edition of “WWE Raw,” Jacob Fatu pulled out a move rarely seen in WWE today, a move popularized by his late uncle, Haku, the Tongan Death Grip. Haku teamed with Fatu’s father, The Tongan Kid, Tama, and is someone Fatu greatly respects. On an episode of “Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg,” ahead of his Backlash match against Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship, Fatu explained exactly why he’ll never change the name of the Tongan Death Grip.

“I started all over when I went back to Florida,” Fatu explained. “Shout out to Tonga Loa man, he’s the person who bought my bed. As soon as I moved in the house, my brother asked, ‘What’s your number? What’s your address?’ Next thing you know, the first bed I ever had, Tonga Loa bought it… Tonga Loa looked out, man. This is why I’m so close with them. It ain’t because they’re Tongan. It ain’t because our dads used to tag. Nah, man, I know these brothers. I know I genuinely love my Tongan brothers… This is why the Tongan Death Grip, it’s not about changing the name. I’m getting goosebumps right now because this move is a sacred move.”

Fatu said there was only one move that was going to take out Reigns, as the “Tribal Chief” has already been through it all. He gave thanks to Haku and everything he did for the business and his family, specifically, his late father.

“That’s a man that my dad was very scared of, but respected so much,” Fatu said. “For us to be all tied in and for me to bring this back out, it’s really to pay homage.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Cheap Heat” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE SmackDown” on May 8, 2026, coming to you live from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida!

Tiffany Stratton will be putting the Women’s United States Championship on the line for the first time since dethroning Giulia as titleholder on the April 24 episode of “WWE SmackDown” as she defends against Giulia’s ally Kiana James. Stratton and James have met in singles competition on “SmackDown” on two other occasions on the October 24, 2025 episode of “SmackDown” and the March 13 episode of the show, with Stratton emerging as the victor both times.

Jacob Fatu will be challenging Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship tomorrow night at WWE Backlash. Before he does, he will be appearing in the opening moments of tonight’s show with something on his mind to share. Not only did Fatu and Reigns this past Monday on “WWE Raw” during a Backlash Contract signing that ended in a physical brawl between both men, but Fatu also encountered Reigns’ allies The Usos during last Friday’s edition of “SmackDown” moments after inadvertently helping MFT’s Solo Sikoa and Talla Tonga win a match against them by taking out Talla with a crossbody off the barricades.

Speaking of Talla, he will be competing in a match of his own tonight as he takes on one half of the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest. Priest’s tag team partner R-Truth has gotten the pair several defenses of their WWE Tag Team Championship over the course of the last several weeks, including last Friday when the pair retained against Nathan Frazer and Axiom.

Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will be joining forces with Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair to square off against Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid, and Fallon Henley. After Jayne emerged victorious against Flair in singles action last Friday thanks to assistance from Henley and Reid, Ripley came to Flair and Bliss’ aid when Fatal Influence blindsided them with a post-match attack.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes scored a win against Ricky Saints last Friday, but GUNTHER unexpectedly blindsided him with an attack just moments later and left Rhodes laid out with a sleeper. Following such, GUNTHER will be making an appearance on tonight’s show with something on his mind to share.

Additionally, United States Champion Trick Williams will be holding a funeral for The Gingerbread Man after his Backlash opponent Sami Zayn took out The Gingerbread Man with an attack and he was helped to the back by medical officials.