Demetrious Johnson believes Khamzat Chimaev’s preparation was a key factor in his narrow title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 328.
Chimaev dropped his middleweight belt to Strickland by split decision in the main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with two judges giving Strickland the decisive fifth round. For a second straight camp, Chimaev handled his strength and conditioning in the garage with coach Sam Calavitta.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Johnson questioned the toll that workload may have taken. "In my personal opinion, I think he trains too hard," Johnson said, later adding, "There's a point in time where when you're in shape, your cardio threshold can only go so high. So if you're already in shape, you can't go any further. Physically, it's impossible. The only thing you're going to get is diminishing returns. ... If I spend all day sparring, drilling, all that stuff and then I go and f*cking kill my body in the garage and then I go and do this, you're just breaking your body down."
Johnson pointed to modern approaches to training as a contrast. "By the time you get to the fight, your body has been through hell for eight to 10 weeks. That used to be the norm back in the day, but now in 2026, there's way too much science. We've seen that less is more and more is less, and I think that's one thing I saw when I was there and I would watch him train. I love when I see people work hard, but sometimes working too f*cking hard doesn't pay off, as well. You're better off taking two days off and just chilling and relaxing."
