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 analyst noted a mysterious 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 exchanges entirely. The post suggests Chimaev was not as well-conditioned functionally for this fight compared to his bout with Dricus Du Plessis, possibly due to weight cut issues. Chimaev had controlled the fight early with 4 minutes and 44 seconds of control time in the first round before the puzzling second-round incident changed the fight's trajectory.
UFC 328
Saturday, May 9, 2026
