Arthur Chimaev provided detailed information about his brother Khamzat's troubled weight cut before facing Sean Strickland. When 1.2 kg remained, Khamzat's body shut down due to oxygen deprivation, requiring hour-long breaks before resuming. Khamzat nearly lost consciousness during the process. He had weighed 97 kg two weeks before the fight and 105 kg around March 13th, attempting to cut to 84 kg. The situation arose because UFC initially had Khamzat contracted to fight Jiri Prochazka at 93 kg, but then requested he fight Strickland instead at middleweight. Khamzat managed to gain only 5-6 kg between weigh-in and fight time, far below normal rehydration. The team has requested a rematch with Strickland for October in Abu Dhabi.
Khamzat Chimaev came dangerously close to losing consciousness during his weight cut ahead of his middleweight bout against Sean Strickland, according to detailed accounts provided by his brother Arthur Chimaev.
Arthur revealed that Khamzat weighed approximately 105 kg around March 13th and stood at 97 kg just two weeks before the fight, requiring a severe cut down to the 84 kg middleweight limit. When only 1.2 kg remained, Khamzat's body began shutting down due to oxygen deprivation, forcing the team to take hour-long breaks before he could continue. He ultimately made weight but was able to rehydrate by only 5-6 kg before fight time, far short of the recovery a fighter of his size would normally achieve.
The root cause, according to Arthur, was a late change in matchmaking. The UFC had originally contracted Khamzat to face Jiri Prochazka at a 93 kg catchweight, but then requested he drop to middleweight to fight Strickland instead, compressing both the preparation timeline and the weight target.
Chimaev, 30 years old and representing the UAE out of Allstars Training Center, entered the fight ranked first in the middleweight division and tenth pound-for-pound. He carries a 15-1-0 record and is among the most dominant grapplers in the sport, averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes with a striking accuracy of 60 percent. Strickland, the reigning middleweight champion at 35, holds a 31-7-0 record and is one of the division's highest-volume strikers, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute out of Xtreme Couture.
Why it matters
- The disclosed weight cut details raise serious questions about fighter welfare and matchmaking decisions made close to fight week.
- Chimaev entering the fight severely under-rehydrated could have meaningfully affected his performance against the division's champion.
- The Chimaev team has formally requested a rematch with Strickland, targeting October in Abu Dhabi, which would carry immediate title implications given Khamzat's number-one ranking.
- Prochazka, ranked second at light heavyweight with a 32-6-1 record, remains a potential opponent if the originally planned catchweight bout is revisited.
