Joe Rogan: Khamzat Chimaev bulking up could have factored in UFC 328 loss

Joe Rogan thinks Khamzat Chimaev 's big weight cut was a result in him gearing up for light heavyweight. Chimaev was last to the scales for his middleweight title defense against Sean Strickland in Saturday's UFC 328 main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N. J.

Although he made 185 pounds on the dot, there was controversy surrounding how quickly his weight was read. Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) wound up losing a split decision to Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC), where he slowed down considerably in Round 2, before catching a second wind. "It was an incredible fight, an incredibly close fight," Rogan said after UFC 328 ( h/t UFC on Paramount+ ).

"Sean knew him from training. They both knew each other from training. So there's that element to it that they kind of knew what to expect because they had interacted with each other before, at least in a sparring way.

"But man, what a fight. It's one of those fights where both guys just drained the tank, particularly in that fifth round. You could see as Sean's hitting him, everything they had, they emptied it out.