Khamzat Chimaev’s first professional defeat at UFC 328 is drawing sharp reactions from his teammates, with Khalil Rountree and Luke Rockhold both insisting the undefeated contender did enough to leave with the belt.
Chimaev dropped a razor-close split decision to Sean Strickland in a five-round title fight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sat., May 9, 2026, a result that has quickly become one of the most debated scorecards of the year.
Rountree, who helped Chimaev prepare during the latter half of camp in Newport Beach, California, admitted he struggled to process what he was seeing. “I would say it was really hard to watch because I wasn’t watching the Khamzat I know,” Rountree said. “It was hard for me to count every round and really analyze the fight because I was so shocked, like, ‘What’s wrong with Khamzat?’”
“The first round was great, the second round things took a huge turn,” he added, before breaking down his view of the scoring. “Then after round three — after that round was done I remember checking off a box and giving that round to Khamzat, I’m biased. Round four, I was like okay, cool — we’re up three rounds going into five and then round five I blurred. So, all to say, I think he did enough to win the fight — rounds 1, 3 and 4. I think if a rematch happens, things look completely different.”
Rockhold echoed the belief that Chimaev closed strong. “I think Khamzat won the fourth and fifth round. He controlled the pace of how that fight finished and that is what champions who deserve the championship do,” Rockhold said, later adding, “It doesn’t make sense. The only thing that makes sense is that he was a +500 underdog and sometimes things gets sketchy. Maybe it was who they wanted to win.”
