Khamzat Chimaev sent a message to new UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland after he lost his belt to him in the main event of UFC 328.
Chimaev lost his belt to Strickland after he was defeated via split decision at UFC 328, which took place on Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The fight was extremely close, as both men went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes. But in the end, Strickland got his hand raised by split decision, something that UFC president Dana White said he agreed with.
Following UFC 328, White was asked if the UFC planned on booking an immediate rematch since the fight was so close and competitive. But White told the media that Chimaev said he was moving up to 205 lbs right after the fight, essentially negating any chances of a rematch.
Or, did Chimaev have a sudden change of heart?
Khamzat Chimaev Sends Message to Sean Strickland
Following the event, Chimaev took to his social media and sent an innocuous message to Strickland.
“@SStricklandMMA see you soon again,” Chimaev wrote on X.
There is no sure way to decipher what Chimaev meant with his message. On one hand, perhaps he changed his mind and wants to fight Strickland again. But on the other hand, maybe he meant he would see Strickland in Las Vegas, where both men train. There isn’t much to go by with the message, but it is interesting and worth pointing out that he sent it immediately after the fight.
A rematch does make sense. The fight was super close, and Chimaev was formerly undefeated in his MMA career before Strickland beat him, so having these two run it back could be good. Plus, the fight was awesome, and the build-up to it was great, too.
On the other hand, Chimaev clearly experienced a difficult weight cut, as he was the last man on the scale at Friday’s official UFC 328 weigh-ins. That makes it hard to say if fighting at 185 lbs is even possible for him to do again, as it looked like the weight cut sapped his energy during the fight.
What Should Khamzat Chimaev Do Next?
It’s in this writer’s opinion that Chimaev should follow through with his original plan of moving up to 205 lbs and trying his hand at a new division.
Even if Chimaev fought at middleweight and somehow managed to make 185 lbs again, the weight cut is going to destroy his body and make it difficult for him to perform at the best of his abilities. In the past, Chimaev used to fight at welterweight, and it feels like all those previous weight cuts to 170 lbs have hurt him for the rest of his career, in regard to what it takes out of someone to cut that much weight.
At light heavyweight, Chimaev will get a fresh start, and with one or two wins, he will be right back in the mix to fight for the 205 lbs belt. As close as this fight with Strickland was, the weight cut to 185 lbs is just too much for Chimaev to handle now, and he needs to just make the move to light heavyweight and stick with it.
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