Sean Strickland has defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to become the new UFC middleweight champion at UFC 328. The post highlights a puzzling moment in the second round when Chimaev suddenly fell to his back mid-round, though he didn't appear to have sustained an injury based on his subsequent performance. Chimaev controlled the fight early with 4 minutes and 44 seconds of control time in the first round, but something changed dramatically in round two. In the third round, Chimaev appeared to avoid grappling exchanges entirely, possibly to conserve energy. The analyst suggests Chimaev's conditioning was notably worse than in his fight against Dricus du Plessis, potentially due to issues with his weight cut. The mystery of what happened in the second round remains unexplained.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
