Strickland Upsets Chimaev To Claim UFC Middleweight Title

Sean Strickland outworked Khamzat Chimaev to take a split decision and reclaim the middleweight belt he lost to Dricus du Plessis.

Two judges scored it 48-47 for Strickland, while the third saw it 48-47 for Chimaev. Chimaev set the tone immediately by scoring a takedown in round 1. He threatened with a submission attempt late in the round, as he took the opener.

Strickland came out differently in the second. He began working his lead jab, and when Chimaev shot for a takedown, Strickland not only defended it but ended up putting Chimaev on his back. He let Chimaev up, immediately started connecting with punches, and shut down the next wrestling attempt too.

The third round belonged to the jab. Strickland stabbed it into Chimaev's face repeatedly while the champion tried to counter with looping punches that couldn't find a home. Strickland was throwing with volume but staying disciplined — never overextending.

Chimaev found a response in the fourth. A big right hand landed clean, he went to the body effectively with kicks, and eventually secured another takedown to close out the round.

Chimaev scored a takedown early in the fifth but Strickland worked back to his feet, reset in the centre, and returned to the jab. A stiff right hand midway through the round opened up more space, and Strickland continued to pepper away with his left hand as Chimaev — visibly fading — struggled to close the distance with the urgency the moment required. Chimaev's conditioning failed him in the championship rounds, and Strickland punished every second of it.

Post-Fight

“I just want to apologize to my American fans, to my Muslim fans and my Chiristian fans,” Strickland said after he was crowned champion again. “I went too f*cking hard. I’ll admit it. I respect all you guys. Chechnya has great fighters. They’re savage. He’s a f*cking savage. I should be a better f*cking example but I try to sell these fights for you f*ckers. That motherf*cker would not go back. I’m hitting him with everything and he just keeps coming forward. Crazy,” Strickland said

Full Card

• Sean Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev (c) via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
• Joshua Van (c) beat Tatsuro Taira via fifth-round TKO (punches)
• Alexander Volkov beat Waldo Cortes Acosta via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Sean Brady beat Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)
• King Green beat Jeremy Stephens via first-round submission (rear naked choke)
• Ateba Gautier beat Ozzy Diaz via second-round knockout (punches)
• Yaroslav Amosov beat Joel Alvarez via second-round submission (head and arm choke)
• Grant Dawson beat Mateusz Rebecki via third-round submission (rear naked choke)
• Jim Miller beat Jared Gordon via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
• Roman Kopylov beat Marco Tulio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Pat Sabatini beat William Gomis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Baisangur Susurkaev beat Djorden Santos via third-round submission (rear naked choke)
• Jose Ochoa beat Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)