Analysis: Strickland's upset over Chimaev mirrors previous Adesanya victory

Detailed analysis suggests Sean Strickland's victory over Khamzat Chimaev follows a familiar pattern from Chimaev's previous five-round fight against Kamaru Usman. In both bouts, Chimaev showed dominant wrestling in the first round followed by cardio issues, leading to extended standup exchanges and weakened grappling attempts. The analyst scored the fight 3-2 for Strickland and was surprised by the split decision, noting that judge Sue Sanidad controversially scored the fifth round for Chimaev despite not judging UFC events since 2014. The post notes this is Strickland's second major upset in recent years after defeating Israel Adesanya. Chimaev is reportedly already planning to move up to light heavyweight, with Paulo Costa mentioned as a potential matchup. For Strickland, a rematch with Nassourdine Imavov is suggested as a logical next step, with Strickland now having six wins over current top-15 middleweights.