Khamzat Chimaev wants rematch with Sean Strickland after UFC 328 title loss: 'The only fight he'll accept'

Chimaev wants to get a second crack at Strickland after a disappointing outing

Khamzat Chimaev refuses anything other than a UFC middleweight title rematch. According to his team, Chimaev is obsessed with avenging his loss to Sean Strickland from UFC 328.

The hostilities were at an all-time high heading into last week's title fight. Yet Chimaev and Strickland seemed to bury the hatchet the moment the fight started. Even after Strickland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC title history (for the second time) Chimaev graciously wrapped the title around Strickland's waist. It felt like the rivalry was behind them. Instead, Chimaev has unfinished business with the middleweight champion.

"The rematch with Sean Strickland is the only fight that Khamzat wants; he is obsessed with it," his team told ESPN in a statement. "That's the only fight he will accept right now."

Chimaev's brother, Artur, echoed that sentiment. He spoke to Chimaev's mentality, claiming he wouldn't tuck his tail and run after such a narrow loss. Artur proposed a rematch in October. While the promotion has not announced an event past Aug. 15, Abu Dhabi has recently become a regular destination for the UFC in October.

"We've requested a rematch with Strickland," Artur told sports.ru, in a Russian-language interview translated by Championship Rounds. "There's an event in Abu Dhabi in October, and we want to do it there.

"Khamzat isn't the type of person to move to another weight class and leave unanswered questions behind. We want the second fight. Right now we have no other goals."

There was wide speculation that Chimaev would move to light heavyweight after the upset loss. UFC CEO Dana White told reporters at Saturday's post-fight press conference that Chimaev told him he no longer wanted to fight at 185 pounds, contradicting Chimaev's camp.

"He literally walked up to me after the fight and said, 'I want to move up. I don't want to fight in the weight class anymore,'" White said.

There was speculation heading into UFC 328 that Chimaev struggled with his weight cut. Spectators pointed to his body language at the official weigh-ins and noticeable fatigue in the second round as evidence. Chimaev's brother claimed that his body shut down while shedding the last few pounds to make their middleweight title fight.

"There was a problem with the weight cut," Artur said. "The question became whether to cancel the fight or take the risk. When there was [2.7 pounds] left, his body shut down... Oxygen deprivation. His body malfunctioned. We had to stop for an hour because his health wouldn't allow him to continue... Khamzat himself said he didn't know how he'd fight in that condition."

Artur attributes the challenging weight cut to a change in preparation. Chimaev was allegedly anticipating a fight with former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka before being notified of his middleweight title defense. As a result, Chimaev was heavier than usual heading into a middleweight training camp.

"There was an agreement with the UFC that he would fight Jiri Prochazka at 205. The contract was already prepared, but then they asked him to fight Sean instead," Artur said. "...So he accepted and decided to cut from [231 pounds] down to [185 pounds]. By fight time, he had only regained around [11-13 pounds]... Two weeks before the fight, he weighed [214 pounds]."

Very few believed Strickland could end Chimaev's undefeated streak on Saturday. Chimaev largely seemed unstoppable on his rise. He was coming off dominant consecutive wins over former champions, including Dricus du Plessis, whom Strickland twice lost to. Ultimately, Strickland snuck away with a narrow decision that had the judges, analysts, and fans split.