Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev shared an unexpected moment of respect after UFC 328, with Strickland apologizing post-fight.
A tense rivalry that played out with insults and hard edges all week in Newark took a dramatic turn after the final bell of UFC 328, as Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev buried the hatchet in the cage.
The middleweight title fight delivered exactly the kind of intensity UFC president Dana White and many fans expected from two fighters known for polarizing public personas.. Yet the immediate aftermath looked different: after the split-decision result was announced. Strickland and Chimaev shook hands and embraced. with their teams exchanging pleasantries in a visible show of respect.
One of the defining moments came when Chimaev placed the championship belt around Strickland’s waist.. The gesture carried extra weight because it was the culmination of a rivalry that had been anything but calm leading into UFC 328.. In the days and weeks beforehand. both men traded barbs online and in person. and Chimaev even kicked Strickland two days before the event at a press conference.
The contrast to past heated UFC encounters stood out.. The report pointed to how. in other high-profile feuds. conflict spilled over far beyond the bout itself—such as the situations involving Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team after UFC 229 in 2018. and the hospital brawl that followed a prior fight between Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs.. In this case, Strickland and Chimaev stepped away from that path quickly once the fight was over.
Joe Rogan highlighted the tone shift in the moments right before the post-fight interview, praising Chimaev for putting the belt around Strickland. White was also asked about what fans saw after the fight, describing it as the opposite of what he said he was expecting based on how the week had gone.
Strickland’s emotional range did not stop with the sportsmanship in the cage.. After being crowned a second time as champion. the 35-year-old from California addressed comments he had made about Chimaev and about parts of his fan base. acknowledging that he “went too” hard and apologizing to his American. Muslim. and Christian supporters.. In doing so. he also stressed his respect for fighters from Chimaev’s Chechnya and called Chimaev a “savage. ” underscoring that the edge in his promotion did not erase admiration for the opponent.
Strickland later clarified that the contentiousness between him and Chimaev was genuine rather than manufactured in the moment after the decision.. At his media availability. he framed the shift to mutual respect as a product of what happens when both fighters fully commit in the cage—when blood is drawn and both men understand how dangerous the exchange can become.
That same respect surfaced in the athletes’ actions once the result was official. After the fight, Chimaev kissed Strickland on the forehead, and the teams’ exchanges suggested a relationship that had moved past the verbal conflict from the lead-up.
On the sport itself, the fight lived up to the expectation of a close middleweight title battle.. Strickland became only the second two-time UFC middleweight champion in the division’s 185-pound history, joining Israel Adesanya.. The division itself has had 13 different undisputed title-wearers over the years.
Strickland first won the belt in September 2023 when he upset Adesanya at UFC 293 in Australia, beginning his first reign. That period proved brief, as he lost two decisions to Dricus Du Plessis, who was unable to defend the title against Chimaev at UFC 319 last summer.
With momentum building again, Strickland returned to the title picture through wins over Paulo Costa and Anthony Hernandez.. At UFC 328. he took full advantage of his opening and pointed to Chimaev’s willingness to come forward even when absorbing heavy impact. reflecting the durability that defined the latter portions of the contest.
Strickland’s remarks during the aftermath referenced the extent of Chimaev’s resistance. particularly the head strikes Chimaev absorbed—an element that reinforced how the fight’s tempo refused to settle.. With Strickland continuing to press and Chimaev persisting, the match ultimately turned on the final round.
Judges delivered a razor-tight scoring pattern.. All three judges scored Round 1 for Chimaev, while Rounds 2 and 3 went to Strickland.. Chimaev swung things back after that fourth round. and in the deciding fifth. two judges favored Strickland while one saw it for Chimaev.. The final decision handed Strickland his second middleweight championship.
For Chimaev, it marked his first professional defeat, dropping him to 15-1 in mixed martial arts.. Strickland improved to 18-7 in the sport and, notably, extended a trend that has defined his approach in five-round fights.. The report noted that this was the ninth time Strickland has gone the distance in a five-round middleweight contest since 2022. with him holding a 6-3 record in those bouts.
Although the fight and the judging were extremely close, an immediate rematch does not appear likely.. Chimaev informed Dana White at the Prudential Center after UFC 328 that he plans to leave the 185-pound division and move up to the 205-pound weight class going forward. a major shift that could reshape the middleweight landscape quickly.
Even with the loss, Chimaev did not close the door entirely. He posted a “see you soon again” message on social media, leaving open the possibility that the story between the two title contenders may not be finished.
For fans tracking what comes next, the sportsmanship shown after the bout may be one of the most telling developments.. Weeks of hostility and provocations were replaced by a shared. immediate acknowledgement of respect inside the cage—turning a rivalry that often felt personal into one that ended with both fighters acting like professionals.
If Chimaev’s move to light heavyweight is confirmed by future plans. Strickland’s role as champion may become even more defined as the 185-pound division searches for a new shape.. Meanwhile. the way the rivalry cooled down after the decision suggests the middleweight championship picture could remain compelling even as paths begin to diverge.
UFC 328 Sean Strickland Khamzat Chimaev middleweight title Dana White sportsmanship