Sean Strickland walked out of the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., as the new middleweight champion this past Saturday, edging Khamzat Chimaev by split decision in the UFC 328 main event.
Strickland claimed the title on the scorecards after five rounds, with two judges giving him the decisive fifth frame. The bout saw momentum shifts across all rounds, and the final stanza was described as the difference maker in the decision.
Daniel Cormier broke down the performance round by round, noting the early adversity for the new champion. “You got a Sean Strickland that got taken down in Round 1,” Cormier said, before detailing how the fight evolved.
“Round 2 scored his own takedowns, Round 3 controlled the fight with the jab. Honestly, I thought Strickland made a mistake in Round 3 by not really pressing on the gas because I felt like Khamzat had a bit of an adrenaline dump. If he'd really pressed him, he really could have made Khamzat struggle down the stretch, but he didn't. But he wins Round 3. Round 4, Khamzat comes back and he fights like Khamzat. I thought Strickland's jab was probably the most effective punch of the entire fight.”
Another analysis emphasized how Strickland’s striking numbers and jab factored into the judges’ call: “The way he was able to control the fight with that jab, showed you how good Sean Strickland is. The right hand seemed to be available, but he never really threw it. Round 3, 4, and 5, Khamzat Chimaev really got on the gas and started backing up Sean Strickland. But if you know scoring, octagon control is no longer a scoring criteria when judging fights. It's damage, duration and dominance. Khamzat showed control when he got him down, but even with the six minutes of top time, Sean still outlanded him by 50 strikes, and a whole bunch of significant strikes.”
Strickland entered UFC 328 with a 31-7 MMA and 18-7 UFC record, while Chimaev came in at 15-1 MMA and 9-1 UFC. After the fight, Strickland revealed multiple shoulder injuries and said he plans to take time off.
