Khamzat Chimaev lost for the first time at UFC 328, and the theories as to what went wrong are already flying.
The immediate answer to Chimaev’s problems was the always befuddling Sean Strickland, who pulled off the second massive title fight upset of his career to once again become champion Saturday in Newark, N.J. Strickland won a split decision in a bout comprised primarily on the feet due to Strickland’s grappling defense and an odd strategy employed by Chimaev that may have been influenced by a difficult weight cut.
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Chimaev looked unhappy on the scale at the official weigh-ins and it’s possible comfortably making the championship weight of 185 pounds may have taken a greater toll on him than usual. The cageside commentary team of Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan, and Jon Anik speculated on the situation immediately after the fight.
“Does Khamzat want to fight at 185?” Cormier said. “They said he already has his eyes on 205. I don’t know.”
Chimaev has made it no secret he would like to move up to the light heavyweight division, not only for the chance to win a title in a second weight class, but to greatly reduce the stress he puts on his body making the middleweight cut. He has also competed as a welterweight and famously missed the 170-pound by 7.5 pounds for UFC 279 in September 2022, a gaffe that spoiled a Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz fight and caused the last three matchups of the event to be shuffled.
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In this instance, Chimaev could possibly have already been bulking up to fight at 205 pounds, but had to shed a significant amount of that when the Strickland fight was booked.
“Good question, because it could have been a factor,” Rogan told Cormier. “The fact that he did try to bulk up plus thinking that he was going to fight Jiri Prochazka for 205.”
Chimaev released a statement following the loss, but made no mention of any weight-cut issues. UFC CEO Dana White says Chimaev has told him he no longer wants to fight at middleweight, but Chimaev’s social media statement seemingly teased the possibility of a Strickland rematch.
Anik doesn’t expect a second go-around to have nearly the same amount of vitriol as the UFC 328 main event—probably because Strickland has already admitted much of the feud was a charade to sell the fight—and that might be good for Chimaev if he hopes to avenge his lone loss.
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“One thing we know for sure is that the buildup to the rematch would be entirely different and there would be less emotional expenditure outside of Khamzat Chimaev, but we don’t know what type of factor that played,” Anik said.
MVP. Rousey vs. Carano goes down this Saturday and you can check out the finalized lineup here.
Wild. Josh Hokit’s has now set his sights on Paulo Costa and UFC CEO Dana White can’t believe the stupidity.
Takes. Arman Tsarukyan seems to think his buddy Chimaev was robbed, while Dricus du Plessis jokes that based on MMA Math he should be champion again.
Honor. Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and dearly departed UFC editorial director Thomas Gerbasi are joining the UFC Hall of Fame.
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Got Milk? Joshua Van hopes Alexandre Pantoja loads up on the calcium if they fight again.
On to the Next One. The Best Friends Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee book Sean Strickland’s next title defense in his second championship reign and try to figure out where Khamzat Chimaev goes from here.
UFC 328 post-fight show.
UFC 328 Watch Party. Relive the magic!
UFC 328 post-fight scrums.
UFC 328 reactions.
He’ll be back.
Looming.
Go off, king.
Close fight.
Presented without context.
Sending all the love to Grant Dawson and his family.
Six months sprawl training…
Adriano Moraes (21-6) vs. Phumi Nkuta (11-0); Rousey vs. Carano, May 16
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Cody Garbrandt (15-7) vs. Adrian Yanez (17-6-1); UFC 329, July 11
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