Chimaev’s Championship Breakthrough Gives Way to a Strickland Setback
Khamzat Chimaev won the UFC middleweight championship against Dricus du Plessis on August 16, 2025, then lost it to Sean Strickland the following May. The two five-round contests produced sharply different outcomes for a fighter whose unbeaten rise had been built on dominant grappling.
Chicago delivers the championship
At UFC 319 in Chicago, Chimaev took du Plessis down almost immediately and controlled the action through repeated wrestling transitions. All three judges scored the bout 50–44, giving him the championship and a fifteenth consecutive professional victory.
The win followed his first-round submission of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. Those performances established a clear route to the belt: rapid pressure against one former champion, followed by sustained control against the reigning titleholder.
Newark brings the first defeat
Strickland presented a more difficult test at UFC 328 in Newark on May 9, 2026. Chimaev dominated the opening round with wrestling, but Strickland defended later attempts, found opportunities of his own and sustained his striking output as the contest continued.
Two judges favored Strickland 48–47, while the third gave Chimaev the same score. The split decision handed Chimaev his first professional defeat and made Strickland a two-time champion. The sequence shows both sides of Chimaev’s championship chapter: a commanding title-winning performance and a much closer defense in which the challenger prevented him from maintaining the same positional control across all five rounds.
Sources
- ufc.com: main card results highlights winner interviews ufc 319 du plessis vs chimaev chicago
- ufc.com: ufc 328 chimaev vs strickland results highlights main card winners interviews newark
Article Tags
Khamzat Chimaev, Dricus du Plessis, Sean Strickland, UFC, MMA
