Analysis: Strickland's victory follows familiar Chimaev pattern from Usman fight

A detailed analysis of Sean Strickland's upset victory over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 suggests the outcome followed a pattern previously seen in Chimaev's fight with Kamaru Usman. The fight featured a dominant first round of wrestling from Chimaev, followed by cardio decline, then standup exchanges, and finally more wrestling attempts while exhausted. Strickland displayed his standard skillset with no new tactics, but Chimaev lacked definitive answers to counter it. The analyst scored the fight a clear 3-2 for Strickland and was surprised it was a split decision, noting judge Sue Sanidad scored the fifth round for Chimaev in her first UFC assignment since 2014. With Chimaev planning to move to light heavyweight (93kg) and showing no interest in a rematch, a logical next title defense for Strickland could be a rematch with Nassourdine Imavov.