Former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev says that the judges robbed him of a win against Sean Strickland at UFC 328.
In a closely fought battle that went the full 25 minutes, Strickland defeated Chimaev via split decision on the judges’ scorecards to win the UFC middleweight title.
Nearly six months later, Chimaev is still very upset at the outcome of the bout, as he believes the judges robbed him of a victory.
Khamzat Chimaev Doesn’t Understand How Sean Strickland Beat Him
Speaking to ESPN, Chimaev said he is still confused about how Strickland beat him at UFC 328 and, to this day, believes the judges ripped him off.
“I won the match but they took my belt. I’m not a judge, but I’ve never seen the guy who is running backwards win the fight. First time in the history of UFC you see the guy who is running backwards wins the belt,” Chimaev said.
Khamzat Chimaev Chasing Still Rematch With Sean Strickland
Neither Chimaev nor Strickland has fought since their title fight back in May, which was one of the biggest fights of the year.
Strickland is currently embroiled in a highly publicized pay dispute with the UFC, as he believes he is underpaid and should get a raise to fight top contender Nassourdine Imavov in a rematch.
Chimaev, meanwhile, is just sitting out and waiting around as the UFC has not given him his next assignment yet despite the fact that he wants to stay active.
In Chimaev’s view, Strickland should fight him next instead of Imavov, as he believes it would be a bigger fight and therefore a bigger payday.
“He should accept the fight against me. He’ll try to go for other fights, and he’s crying about money. If he needs the money, he has to fight me,” Chimaev said.
As for Chimaev, he is staying active wrestling in RAF, but his goal is to fight Strickland for the belt.
“First, I want to get my belt back. That’s the number one, for me, is to get the belt back. After that, we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Chimaev said.
Khamzat Chimaev Says Judges Robbed Him vs. Sean Strickland