Sean Strickland has done the unlikely once again. The 35-year-old defeated Khamzat Chimaev via split decision on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to become a two-time middleweight champion. And he did that against odds that appeared to have given up on him. 

“I just want to apologize to my American fans, to my Muslim fans, to my Christian fans,” Strickland said after his win. “I went too f–king hard, I will admit it. I respect all of you guys. Chechnya has great fighters. They are savage. He is a f–king savage. I should be a better fucking example, but I try to sell these fights for you f–kers. I appreciate you.”

As Strickland delivered his post-fight message, Khamzat Chimaev was seen leaving the Octagon without giving an interview, visibly devastated by the result. The defeat not only ended his undefeated run in the UFC but also extended a strange middleweight curse that has haunted several champions over the years. 

Khamzat Chimaev entered the fight riding a dominant nine-fight UFC win streak before suffering his first loss. Ironically, the same thing happened to Dricus Du Plessis, Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and MMA legend Chris Weidman. Each fighter captured the middleweight title while on a nine-fight streak, only to eventually lose afterward.  

MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin summarized this curse perfectly. 

“Annnnd the curse continues,” he wrote on X. 

But Chimaev’s loss didn’t sit well with the fans—they soon took to social media to scream robbery. 

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland is branded as a ‘glorified sparring match’

One user claimed Sean Strickland was awarded the win unfairly. “Khamzat won. That’s not fair. Stupid decision. Sean did nothing except for the jabs,” the user wrote. Khamzat Chimaev started the fight strong, dominating ‘Tarzan’ in the first round. But as the rounds progressed, Strickland was taking the lead on the feet. Even when Chimaev was rallying back with wrestling in the later rounds, Strickland was able to stuff the take-down attempts. It was a competitive fight, but Strickland edged it out. 

The next fan wasn’t too happy about one of the judges. “Chimaev won that fight. Bad decision. And how is Sal D’Amato a judge on EVERY card?” the fan asked. D’Amato gave the first and the fourth rounds to Chimaev, and the rest to Strickland. 

Even the next user had similar thoughts. “Robbery. Khamzat won,” the user posted. Interestingly, only Judge Sue Sanidad had Chimaev winning the fight. And the only difference on her scorecard was that she gave the final round to Khamzat Chimaev.

Meanwhile, another user didn’t like the fight overall. “Glorified sparring match. MMA above welterweight is trash,” the user wrote. Perhaps the user was expecting a knockout finish, which is difficult when one of the fighters continuously tries to take the other down and hold him there. 

But not everyone was sad about the outcome of the fight. “Strickland is my new hero,” one user commented. Khamzat Chimaev has long been branded boring, so a lot of fans wanted him gone as a champion. 

In any case, though, the fight was a very close affair, and a rematch isn’t out of the realm of possibility. But when that may happen is anybody’s guess.