Khamzat Chimaev has not fought since May, and he has not accepted what happened in May.
“I didn't lose that match. People say I lost the match, but I'm the real champion.”
The former middleweight champion told MMA Junkie this week that he did not lose to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 — and that he is still the real champion at 185 pounds.
"It should be the winner because I'm the No. 1 contender, and I didn't lose that match," Chimaev said. "People say I lost the match, but I'm the real champion."
The record says otherwise, and Chimaev knows it. Strickland took the title from him by split decision in the UFC 328 main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, 47-48, 48-47, 48-47. It was the first loss of Chimaev's professional career, dropping him to 15-1, in his first title defense after he beat Dricus Du Plessis for the belt at UFC 319 in August 2025. All three judges scored that fight 50-44.
Chimaev controlled the opening round with his wrestling, then faded after a failed takedown attempt in the second. Strickland out-struck him down the stretch. His team later linked the fade to health issues, while saying he had gone ahead with the bout anyway.
None of that changes the result. The judges gave Strickland the fight, and the UFC still lists Strickland (31-7, 18-7 UFC) as champion. Chimaev's claim is not about the scorecards — it is about who he believes the division still belongs to.
What he wants next is specific, and he has ruled out anything else. No tune-up fight. He wants the winner of the proposed title bout between Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov, the No. 3-ranked middleweight.
"He's always crying about something, so I'm just being ready," Chimaev said of Strickland. "I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe the UFC wants me to face the winner of the fight, so I just want to take my belt back very soon. If it happens soon, I'm going to fight soon, as well."
Strickland is expected to run it back with Imavov, with February 2027 reported as the target — but the matchup is not booked, and it has stalled while Strickland holds out over pay. Chimaev said he is ready to fight whenever the UFC calls, and that he will sit and wait for the winner rather than take another fight first.
That patience has already drawn fire from fans, who want him to fight his way back rather than wait for a title shot. Chimaev is not moving. He has also kept active outside the cage, challenging Colby Covington for the RAF cruiserweight crossover title in the November 14 main event in Abu Dhabi.
The middleweight picture is now this: Strickland holds the belt and is arguing over his contract. Imavov waits for a date that does not exist yet. And the No. 1 contender insists the belt is still his — not because he won the fight, but because he refuses to accept that he lost it.
