Khamzat Chimaev losing at UFC 328 to Sean Strickland has virtually everyone in the MMA world talking, including someone within the lineage of UFC middleweight champions throughout history. That referenced fighter is Luke Rockhold, who discussed this recent 185 pound title clash on the JAXXON Podcast.
The former Strikeforce and UFC titleholder has well documented training interactions with ‘Borz’ in recent times and clearly has a certain rapport with Chimaev. Conversely, Rockhold and Strickland have their own history in a far more adversarial way. The two were booked to compete at UFC 268 before a herniated disc sustained in Rockhold’s back caused a withdrawal from the planned Strickland contest in November 2021.
Touching upon his thoughts regarding the headlining bout from the latest numbered event from Ultimate Fighting Championship, Rockhold said [via MMA Junkie],
“Maybe that’s why he won, because of the +400 or 500 odds. I think Khamzat [Chimaev] won. Khamzat won the fourth and fifth round. He controlled the pace of how that fight finished, and that’s what champions do, and that’s who deserves the championship.”
“A jab is meant to change the course of what direction the fight is going. Every jab he [Sean Strickland] had was moving backwards. You’ve got to do damage and step him back. … The only round that was clear for Sean is Round 2. Round 3 was close, could have gone either way. Round 4 was Khamzat all the way. He really pushed the pace; he hit him with some bigger shots. Sean was landing clean jabs, but they’re usually off breaks and pepper jabs. It was setting up.”
Luke Rockhold saw “sketchy things” in Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland UFC 328 scorecards
As he further expounded upon his thoughts relating to the Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland 185-pound title fight from May 9th, Rockhold continued [via MMA Junkie],
“They were setups, and they were defensive. Then the fifth round, he [Chimaev] pushed him on the back foot, too. He could have won [Rounds] 1, 3, 4, and 5. The only clear round for Sean was Round 2. Khamzat landed the bigger shots. It doesn’t make sense. The only thing that makes sense is that he was a +500 underdog. There’s a little bit of sketchy things sometimes in who they want to win. Maybe they just wanted Sean to win because he’s Sean. It could have been swayed.”