Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision at UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, handing Chimaev the first defeat of his 16-fight professional career.
Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Strickland and one judge scored it 48-47 for Chimaev, a close tally that decided the night before 17,783 fans. The victory made Strickland a two-time UFC middleweight champion; he first won the 185-pound title in September 2023 and had lost it in his first defense the following January to Dricus du Plessis.
The fight opened with the fighters touching gloves, and Chimaev secured an early takedown in the first round. Strickland began to rely consistently on a jab from the back foot, and he fended off takedown attempts in the second round as the match played out mostly on points rather than on a finish.
After the final bell, Strickland reached into his post-fight remarks to apologize to multiple groups of supporters, saying he had gone too far at times and that he respected his American, Christian and Muslim fans. He said he should be a better example while insisting his intent was to sell the fights. He also described Chimaev as relentless, saying he hit him with everything but Chimaev kept coming forward, and acknowledged that the challenger may have broken his nose while thanking fans for their support.
Chimaev, who until the bout had been unbeaten as a professional, nonetheless showed moments of control on the mat and kept pressuring Strickland throughout. In a notable gesture after the decision, Chimaev wrapped the belt around Strickland's waist.
The tension around this fight had been high from the start: the build-up was marred by derogatory and racist comments from Strickland, and the promotion hired extra security during fight week because of the animosity between the two camps. The fraught pre-fight atmosphere spilled into a combustible face-off during fight week — an incident documented during the promotional cycle that can be revisited at
The match itself presented a contradiction. Chimaev's early takedown and forward pressure looked like the way to bend the fight toward him, yet Strickland's measured counterpunching and disciplined jab kept him ahead on the scorecards. That mismatch between sustained aggression and the judges' arithmetic is what produced the split decision and the first blemish on Chimaev's 16-fight record.
For Strickland, reclaiming the middleweight strap completes a narrow arc that began when he first took the title in September 2023 and then lost it in his first defense in January. For Chimaev, the loss is the most immediate and consequential break in a previously spotless professional run. The single unanswered question now is whether Chimaev will return to the title picture quickly or recalibrate his approach after his first career defeat.
