Scorecards! Pivotal 5th round earns Sean Strickland split decision win over Khamzat Chimaev
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Sean Strickland reacts after a split-decision victory against Khamzat Chimaev of Russia in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 328 event at Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) Sean Strickland has defied the odds and shocked the world once again, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision at UFC 328. Chimaev was as much as a -500 favorite to +375 dog Strickland, but everyone doubted “Tarzan” when he fought Israel Adesanya back in 2023, and Sean left Australia with Izzy’s belt that time.
That was a more definitive win against a surprisingly flat “Stylebender,” and you could argue that Chimaev was not the same hungry wolf that terrorized the middleweight division over the past few years. But Strickland negated Chimaev’s wrestling and forced the fight to become a stand-up battle. And in that battle, Strickland edged Chimaev.
Looking at the scorecards, judge Sue Sanidad had it 48-47 for Chimaev while Sal D’Amato and Eric Colon both had it 48-47 for Strickland. The contested round wasn’t the third as some might expect — all three judges awarded that to Strickland — but the fifth. Colon and D’Amato awarded round 5 to Strickland while Sanidad had it for Chimaev.
#UFC328 Official Result: Sean Strickland (48-47, 47-48, 48-47 | @SStricklandMMA ) defeats Khamzat Chimaev by Split Decision. Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t. co/6bI6ny8sAU Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.
co/osFINARepw pic. twitter. com/5pZ8LNWkvU — UFC News (@UFCNews) May 10, 2026 All three judges had round 1 for Chimaev, unsurprising given the Chechen’s wrestling domination.