Strickland defeats Chimaev by split decision to win UFC middleweight title

Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to become the new UFC middleweight champion at UFC 328. The post notes that the biggest mystery of the fight was what happened to Chimaev in the middle of the second round when he suddenly fell to his back, though he didn't appear injured afterward. Chimaev controlled the fight for 4 minutes and 44 seconds in the first round but seemed to conserve energy in the third round by avoiding grappling entirely. The analysis suggests Chimaev was not as well-prepared functionally for this fight as he was for his bout against Dricus Du Plessis, possibly due to weight-cutting issues.