There could be many advantages that Sean Strickland has to hand Khamzat Chimaev his lone MMA loss at UFC 328. But if someone believes ‘Tarzan’ would have a size advantage, then they might be very wrong. Why? Because ahead of their New Jersey championship clash, ‘Borz’ faced a former UFC light heavyweight title challenger in a sparring session, which turned out to be a humbling experience for the 205er.

As part of his training, Khamzat Chimaev shared a sparring session with former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr. at JAXXON training premises. Though many expected the #8-ranked light heavyweight contender, Rountree, to assert his dominance over ‘Borz’ as he’s bigger in weight, ‘The War Horse’ experienced a humbling and painful defeat as Chimaev dropped and outgrappled him during a friendly match.

“It was very intense, but everything that I expected,” Khalil Rountree said in a JAXXON video. “I knew I was going to come in here and do my absolute best, but it was painful. There were definitely moments where I’d call them humbling because they make me question certain things I even say about myself.

Sometimes I think I’m really good or in good shape, and then I face a workout like this, and it makes me realize that there’s so much more to go. And so it’s eye-opening.”

To be fair, many could find Khamzat Chimaev dominating a ranked 205-pounder very surprising, as he was a welterweight before. Yet, it doesn’t become that unexpected considering the Chechen-Emirati champ actually claimed to have done the same against former champ Jiri Prochazka in another sparring session a few years ago.

Well, ‘BJP’ hasn’t explicitly confirmed or denied it, but if ‘Borz’ can humble a light heavyweight like Rountree, it’s believable that he can pose a threat to anyone. Moreover, it’s not only the fans who think Chimaev could be dominant in another bigger weight class. Even UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes that. On a recent episode of his ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast, the UFC commentator highlighted Chimaev’s size, power, and elite wrestling as key reasons he could find success even at light heavyweight.

Previously, the current middleweight champ has flirted with the idea of moving toward light heavyweight when Alex Pereira was champion. However, after ‘Poatan’ moved to heavyweight, Chimaev didn’t talk much about trying out the 205 lbs division. But that doesn’t mean ‘Borz’ still doesn’t have the ambition.

That said, before we find out whether he wants to move to another division, Chimaev needs to face Sean Strickland, and there seems to be some surprising backing coming Strickland’s way ahead of the UFC 328 clash.

Jorge Masvidal is betting the house on Strickland to beat Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland are all set to settle their grudge match in New York, New Jersey on May 9. Fans definitely expect the event to shatter every viewership record Paramount+ has amassed in its partnership with the UFC so far. But when it comes to picks, the viewers seem very confident about ‘Borz’ retaining the belt, as he’s a massive -425 favorite.

Although the majority of fans are rallying behind Chimaev, Jorge Masvidal believes Sean Strickland, with 76 per cent success in takedown defence in the UFC, will pull off the biggest upset in UFC history. The reason? ‘Gamebred’ believes ‘Tarzan’ possesses better wrestling than many think, as he witnessed Strickland going toe to toe with his American Top Team teammates.

“I know he went up to 185 and did some big things, but I don’t think he beats Strickland,” Masvidal said on Death Row MMA. “I’m dumping the house on Strickland. I don’t even think Chimaev fights him because they’ve trained a lot. He’s just a bad style for him. I’ve seen Sean go with good wrestlers over at American Top Team – guys who have wrestled their whole life, All-Americans, national champions.”

Sean Strickland, for most of his career, has trained with Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture. He does go out and train with other gym members, too. Yet, his training with other ATT members hasn’t been heard much about, other than Robbie Lawler. But in 2021, ‘Tarzan’ beat Krzysztof Jotko, who’s a prominent American Top Team member.

That said, is Sean Strickland’s wrestling experience enough to topple a force like Khamzat Chimaev? Or are we going to see a proper one-sided beatdown once again? Let us know in the comments section below.