NEWARK, N.J. – Even with a victory in hand, Sean Strickland still remains skeptical about the legitimacy of the weigh-ins for his UFC 328 title fight.
There was plenty of debate online Friday whether Khamzat Chimaev had actually made weight for his title defense against Strickland (29-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) for the UFC 328 main event at Prudential Center. Although the New Jersey State Athletic Commission registered Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) at 185 pounds, many, including Strickland, have theorized the commission representative didn’t allow the manual scale to settle fully before declaring Chimaev had hit the mark. Chimaev was the last fighter to come to the scale during the two-hour official weigh-ins window. While he appeared to be fatigued, he also weighed in while wearing briefs.
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Strickland, who upset Chimaev with a split decision win, is convinced the now ex-champ missed the mark.
“He one thousand percent missed weight,” Strickland said at the UFC 328 post-fight press conference. “We had a guy from my camp watching him get on the check scale. When he stepped on, his whole camp said, ‘F*ck.’ And they dragged him up because he was running out of time. He one thousand percent missed weight. I don’t b*tch about it. Be a heavyweight – I don’t care. But at the end of the day, I heard he said he might want to move up to 205. He should, dude. If that weight cut’s killing you, go to f*cking 205. Enjoy life. It’s way easier competition.”
If Chimaev had missed weight, there wouldn’t have been a title defense for him. In past such instances, the champ who missed weight has been stripped of the title – with it only available for the challenger to win. Plus, the other fighter would get a percentage of the purse from the one who missed weight.
“I should get 20 percent (of Chimaev’s purse). What the f*ck, dude?” Strickland said.
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UFC CEO Dana White separated himself from the controversy and said everything was done by the book.
“You know the New Jersey State Athletic Commission oversees the weigh-ins, right?” White said. “Jeremy Stephens missed weight by four pounds, and they had to cut a deal – but for Khamzat, they’re not going to let him make weight? Jersey and New York are the two toughest commissions in the country. The internet is f*cking stupid.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Strickland claims Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for UFC 328
