‘He Didn’t Wanna Finish The Cut’
UFC 328 did not go according to plan for Khamzat Chimaev. “Borz” dropped a competitive split-decision to Sean Strickland in the main event, coughing up his Middleweight title in the process. The Russian wrestler started strong with his dominant wrestling, but he tired quickly and spent most of the back half of the fight striking […]
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 8: Khamzat Chimaev poses on the scale at the UFC 328 official weigh-in at the Hyatt Regency Morristown on May 8, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC) UFC 328 did not go according to plan for Khamzat Chimaev. “Borz” dropped a competitive split-decision to Sean Strickland in the main event, coughing up his Middleweight title in the process.
The Russian wrestler started strong with his dominant wrestling, but he tired quickly and spent most of the back half of the fight striking with Strickland. Perhaps some of Chimaev’s fatigue can be explained by his drastic weight cut. As a result of potentially fighting up at Light Heavyweight, Chimaev was bulking prior to the announcement of Strickland as his next opponent at 185 pounds.
As a result, Chimaev started his fight camp 46 pounds above the Middleweight limit and looked rough on the scale, making weight with little time to spare. UFC Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan was there for the whole process, and he revealed further details about Chimaev’s cut on the Jaxxon podcast . Arman Tsarukyan reveals how brutal Khamzat Chimaev’s weight cut was during the fight week “From day 1 of his training camp, he cut 40lbs.
He had to cut 13lbs on the last day. The first 9lbs was easy and he felt bad during the night, and then he woke up and said, ‘I feel so weak… pic. twitter.