Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t pay much mind to those who say he is too inactive to be UFC Middleweight Champion. 

Chimaev will defend the title he won in August last year for the first time against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9, having fought on just one occasion in 2025, 2024, and 2023 respectively. He fought twice in 2022 but also just the once in 2021, making for seven fights in six years including his upcoming bout.

But speaking on that criticism during “Beyond The Win” he said that he doesn’t pay attention to any criticism. 

“I don’t care,” he said. “I make millions – a lot of people just talking and doing nothing. So I don’t have time to speak about somebody. Like if you do your work, I don’t need to go and watch you work, what you do, how often you work, how much you get. I care about myself, how much I make, how much I fight.”

Pressed on how much he makes with UFC, he played coy and said it was a secret. But he added, “I’ve been living in the gym, now I’m living the dream.” 

But the “millions” he makes comes more from outside-of-UFC projects, he said. “I make more money out of UFC because who I became, Khamzat Chimaev, wherever I go, people they want to sponsor. They want to do different things with me.” 

Chimaev is 15-0 since making his professional MMA debut in 2018, and in 2020 made three Performance of the Night winning performances for three fights in his debut year in UFC. His UFC record sits at 9-0 since then. 

AEW President Tony Khan announced on his pre-show live stream ahead of “AEW Dynamite” on X (formerly Twitter) that Kyle Fletcher would be vacating the TNT Championship due to injury. It was initially reported on Monday that the “Protostar” would be out for a significant amount of time due to a meniscus injury, as well as other injuries he recently sustained.

Khan confirmed that they believe Fletcher will be out for months, though they do believe that he will be back in the ring in 2026. He called Fletcher one of the “greatest TNT Champions of all time,” but said that he is forced to vacate the title. Khan announced that at Dynasty on Sunday from Vancouver, there will be a Casino Gauntlet match to crown the new champion.

To determine the number one entrant into the gauntlet, the former TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will take on Mascara Dorada on “Dynamite.” Elsewhere on the show, Chris Jericho is set to address his return to AEW, and the also-returning Queen Aminata will take on TBS Champion Willow Nightingale for the gold. A trios matching pitting the Don Callis Family’s Mark Davis, Andrade El Idolo, and Konosuke Takeshita against Bandido, Darby Allin, and AEW National Champion Jack Perry will also take place.

More news has emerged following initial reports on Wednesday of TNA reportedly blocking its talent from performing in matches against AEW stars on the independent scene. TNA entered a partnership with WWE at the beginning of 2025, but reports have yet to clarify whether or not that has anything to do with recent happenings.

It was reported by Fightful Select that TNA star Moose was removed from Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s Multiverse event, and others within TNA expressed concern that other talent already booked in matches could be pulled. In an update, Sean Ross Sapp posted to X (formerly Twitter) that TNA President Carlos Silva confirmed to him that other TNA wrestlers had been pulled from shows due to “partner conflicts.”

According to Dave Meltzer, also on X, those involved with WrestleCon’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow set for next Thursday, the main event match featuring TNA’s Leon Slater and AEW’s Ricochet has not been called off, as of this writing. Meltzer said that “everyone is well aware of the situation.”

In an update to their initial story on F4WOnline, it was noted that AEW World Champion MJF vs. Nic Nemeth at Create-A-Pro Wrestling’s Monumental Moment show on May 1 “might not happen.” The match was made official on March 27 when the pair traded barbs on social media after Nemeth told MJF to step up his promo game following an episode of “AEW Dynamite.”

PWInsider initially reported the move was done because TNA didn’t want their stars facing other promotion’s talent on taped or live events. The company’s reported belief was that it could lead to TNA talents looking bad by losing.

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “AEW Dynamite” on April 8, 2026, coming to you live from the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!

Coming off her successful defense against the returning Hikaru Shida on the April 2 episode of “AEW Collision”, Willow Nightingale will be putting her TBS Championship on the line once again tonight as she defends against Queen Aminata. This will mark Aminata’s first time competing in a ring since herself and Jamie Hayter came up short to Sisters of Sin in a quarterfinals match for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship Tournament during the Fright Night “Dynamite” Special on October 29, 2025.

Chris Jericho made his surprise return to AEW during last Wednesday’s episode of “Dynamite”, telling his hometown Winnipeg crowd that he was home both there and in AEW. Following such, Jericho will be making an appearance on tonight’s show with something on his mind to share.

Before he challenges MJF for the AEW World Championship at AEW Dynasty this coming Saturday, Kenny Omega will be making an appearance with something on his mind to share. After Omega and MJF their Dynasty match official by putting pen-to-paper with a contract signing last Wednesday that led to a tense verbal confrontation between them, “Speedball” Mike Bailey stepped in to come to Omega’s defense and was unsuccessful in scoring a win against MJF in an AEW World Championship Eliminator Match later that same night.

AEW National Champion Jack Perry will be joining forces with Brody King and Darby Allin to take on The Don Callis Family’s Andrade El Idolo, Mark Davis, and Konosuke Takeshita. While Perry, King, and the aforementioned Omega emerged victorious against The Demand’s Ricochet, Bishop Kanu, and Toa Liona last Wednesday, Allin has been vying for a shot at MJF’s AEW World Championship despite MJF enlisting The Don Callis Family to prevent Allin from gaining such.

Brody King was replaced by his “Brodido” tag team partner Bandido in a match set for “AEW Dynamite.” Bandido will team with Darby Allin and AEW National Champion Jack Perry against the Don Callis Family’s Andrade El Idolo, Konosuke Takeshita, and Mark Davis. King took to social media to explain his absence ahead of the show on Wednesday.

The star explained on X (formerly Twitter) that he will be attending the funeral of his friend, Bo Lueders, the guitarist of hardcore band Harm’s Way and co-host of the popular “HardLore Podcast.” Lueders’ death was announced by the podcast account in a post to X on April 2. Ahead of “Dynamite,” King took to the platform to express his gratitude toward AEW.

“I promise I would much rather be at Dynamite than having to attend my friends funeral,” he wrote. “Thank you to Bandido for being the best partner and stepping up in my absence and thank you to Tony for giving me the ability to be with my friends and family at this time. #Boluedersforver”

HardLore wrote in their announcement that Lueders would be remembered for his “unwavering empathy and compassion” for his friends and family, as well as his “magnetic, inimitable presence on and off the stage.” Since his friend’s passing, King has shared memories of them together, including reposting a photo of himself alongside Lueders, with Lueders captioning the photo from 2023 “me and my favorite wrestler.”

I promise I would much rather be at Dynamite than having to attend my friends funeral. Thank you to Bandido for being the best partner and stepping up in my absence and thank you to Tony for giving me the ability to be with my friends and family at this time. #Boluedersforver https://t.co/7xCYH0Ldzo

— Big Bad Brody King (@Brodyxking) April 8, 2026

AEW President Tony Khan previously announced that King would be out of action due to personal reasons. The star has not been booked in a match for Dynasty, coming up on Sunday, as of this writing.