Sean Strickland defeats Khamzat Chimaev by split decision to win UFC title

Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to become the new UFC middleweight champion at UFC 328. The fight featured a puzzling moment in the second round when Chimaev suddenly fell to his back mid-round, though he didn't appear injured afterward. Chimaev controlled the fight early with 4 minutes and 44 seconds of control time in the first round. However, in the third round, Chimaev appeared to conserve energy and avoided engaging in wrestling exchanges entirely. The analysis suggests Chimaev was not as well-prepared functionally for this fight as he was for his bout against Dricus Du Plessis, potentially due to weight-cutting difficulties.