Sean Strickland upsets unbeaten Chimaev by split decision to claim UFC middleweight title
Sean Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 238 on Saturday night, dethroning the previously undefeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The crowd was on its feet through the closing seconds of the fifth round still uncertain which way the cards would fall, and Strickland's corner waited until Bruce Buffer announced the result before the title was officially around his waist a second time.
The fight opened the way most analysts predicted. Chimaev shot for a takedown inside the first minute, looking to press Strickland against the cage and grind out the early rounds. Strickland turned, kept his neck off the line, and worked back to his feet without conceding a meaningful position. Through the back half of round one Strickland used the Philly Shell stance he is known for, marching forward behind a stiff jab. At range he won exchanges; in the clinch Chimaev was clearly ahead.
In the second round Chimaev landed his first sustained takedown, holding Strickland on the canvas for more than two minutes. The position never produced significant damage, however. Two of the three judges scored the round for Chimaev; the third gave it to Strickland on damage. ESPN analyst Daniel Cormier said on the broadcast that Chimaev was "winning rounds but not stealing the fight," a phrase that would prove decisive.
The third round was the night's pivot. Strickland stopped retreating to the cage, took center, and used his jab to keep Chimaev's hips from squaring up. When the Chechen dropped levels for a takedown, Strickland's framing was tighter, and twice he scored with a knee on the way back up. According to ESPN's official statistics, Strickland landed 47 significant strikes in round three to Chimaev's 19.
Chimaev pushed back in the fourth, securing a clean takedown midway through and cycling between half guard and side control attempts for almost two minutes. Strickland used a butterfly guard to delay the position, but the round went to Chimaev on all three cards. With one round left, the fight was a coin flip on the scorecards.
The fifth round belonged to Strickland's discipline. Chimaev's pace had visibly dropped, and his shots came less explosively. Strickland's jab-cross-jab combination forced the southpaw to circle right repeatedly, opening space for a long knee to the liver inside the final minute. Two clean counters in the closing thirty seconds drew a roar from the crowd.
When Buffer announced the split decision, Strickland took the microphone. "People said this man couldn't be beaten," he told the arena. "I'm just a guy who shows up to the gym every day. I don't believe anyone is unbeatable." He added that he was ready to defend against former champion Dricus du Plessis next.
For Chimaev, the loss is razor-thin but historically meaningful. His record drops from 19-0 to 19-1. By the numbers Strickland out-landed him in two of five rounds and held a takedown defense rate of around 60 percent across the bout. Khabib Nurmagomedov, working Chimaev's corner, had told his fighter between rounds that they would have to wait on the judges; that wait ended in his charge's first professional defeat.
UFC president Dana White, speaking in the post-fight press conference, hinted at a rematch. "That was the closest middleweight fight I've seen all year," he said. The middleweight title picture now contains Israel Adesanya, Du Plessis and Strickland at the top; an eventual round-robin among the three would be one of the most marketable storylines on the UFC's late-year calendar.
For Strickland the belt represents the recovery of a title he lost three years ago. "I lost it once, I took it back. I don't plan on giving it up again," he said with the strap still hanging from his shoulder. The T-Mobile Arena crowd filed out still arguing about which fighter had stolen which round; on the question of whether a split decision was the right ending for a fight MMA fans will be talking about for weeks, there was rare consensus.