Sean Strickland's victory over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 marked his second major upset in recent years, having previously defeated Israel Adesanya. The detailed analysis suggests Chimaev showed familiar patterns from his Kamaru Usman fight: dominant first-round grappling followed by cardio decline, leading to extended striking exchanges and weakened later takedown attempts. Strickland displayed no new techniques, relying on his standard skillset, but Chimaev had no definitive answers for it. The scoring was viewed as a clear 3-2 rounds for Strickland, though judge Sue Sanidad (making her first UFC appearance since 2014) controversially scored round five for Chimaev. Post-fight conduct raised questions, as both fighters showed unexpected friendliness despite months of intense trash talk, with Chimaev even saying "I love you" during the fight. The analysis suggests Chimaev may have been preparing for a light heavyweight debut before plans changed last minute, potentially explaining his conditioning issues.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
