Khamzat Chimaev lost the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328 on May 10 in Newark, New Jersey. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Strickland while one judge had it 48-47 for Chimaev, leaving the champion with a 31-7 career record and Chimaev at 15-1 overall [1].
Chimaev’s team said he is "obsessed" with an immediate rematch and will accept no other fight at this time. "The rematch with Sean Strickland is the only fight that Khamzat wants," they stated [1]. His brother, Artur Chimaev, confirmed they have formally requested the rematch and proposed it for a UFC event scheduled in Abu Dhabi in October. Artur said, "Khamzat isn't the type of person to move to another weight class and leave unanswered questions behind. We want the second fight. Right now we have no other goals" [2].
However, UFC CEO Dana White reported that Chimaev told him after the fight that he wants to move up to the light heavyweight division and no longer fight at middleweight. White quoted Chimaev saying, "I want to move up. I don't want to fight in the weight class anymore" [1, 2]. Chimaev’s team, though, confirmed that he intends to pursue the middleweight rematch before any change in weight class [1].
There has been speculation that Chimaev struggled with his weight cut prior to UFC 328, which may have impacted his performance [2]. Despite a tense buildup, Chimaev showed sportsmanship by wrapping the championship belt around Strickland’s waist after the fight. Strickland said the grudge between them is over [1, 2].
Strickland is expected to make his first title defense against Nassourdine Imavov according to himself [1]. The next concrete step will be the organization’s decision on whether the Chimaev-Strickland rematch will be scheduled for the October UFC event in Abu Dhabi as requested by Chimaev’s camp [2].
