Sean Strickland captured the UFC middleweight championship by defeating Hamzat Chimaev via split decision with scorecards of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 at UFC 328. The fight featured a puzzling moment in the second round when Chimaev suddenly fell to his back mid-round, though he showed no signs of injury afterward. Chimaev appeared to conserve energy in the third round and avoided wrestling entirely, which was unusual given his dominant first-round performance with 4 minutes and 44 seconds of control time. The observer notes that Chimaev did not appear as well-conditioned functionally as he was for his bout with Dricus Du Plessis, potentially due to weight cut issues. The mystery of what happened in the second round remains unexplained.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
