Sean Strickland Admits He Didn’t Think He Could Beat Khamzat Chimaev

A Fight Nobody Expected Him To Win

Before UFC 328,

most fans believed Khamzat Chimaev would dominate the fight.

The undefeated middleweight champion entered the event as one of the most feared fighters in modern MMA.

Meanwhile,

Sean Strickland spent the entire week provoking Chimaev through trash talk,
mind games
and constant psychological pressure.

—

A Brutal Start For Chimaev

At the beginning of the fight,

the situation looked exactly like many analysts predicted.

Khamzat immediately pressured Strickland,
secured takedowns
and controlled large moments of the opening round.

Because of his wrestling dominance,

many viewers believed the fight would end quickly.

However,

Strickland slowly began adapting to the pressure.

—

The Momentum Suddenly Changed

As the fight continued,

Strickland improved his takedown defense
and started controlling the striking exchanges with his jab and constant pressure.

Round after round,

the momentum slowly shifted.

Surprisingly,

Chimaev also appeared to slow down physically during the later rounds.

That completely changed the rhythm of the fight.

—

One Of The Biggest UFC Upsets In Years

After five brutal rounds,

the judges awarded Sean Strickland
a split decision victory.

As a result,

Khamzat Chimaev suffered the first defeat of his professional MMA career.

The result instantly became one of the biggest surprises in recent UFC history.

Some MMA analysts are already comparing the upset to legendary moments such as:

• Matt Serra vs Georges St-Pierre
• Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor
• and Strickland’s own victory against Israel Adesanya.

—

Respect After The Chaos

Despite the extremely hostile build-up,

the atmosphere changed completely after the fight.

In a surprising moment,

Chimaev personally placed the championship belt around Strickland’s waist after the final decision.

Later,

Strickland also admitted that deep down,
he did not actually believe he could beat Khamzat before the fight.

That confession shocked many MMA fans online.

—

Questions Around Chimaev’s Future

Following the defeat,

questions are now growing around Khamzat Chimaev’s future in the division.

According to Dana White,

Chimaev may consider moving to a heavier weight class after struggling with the difficult weight cut for UFC 328.

Meanwhile,

fans are already demanding a rematch between both fighters.

—

A Fight That Changed The Division

Ultimately,

UFC 328 completely changed the middleweight division.

Sean Strickland once again proved that even in modern MMA,

massive upsets can still happen.