Khamzat Chimaev endured a brutal weight cut and an uncharacteristically lackluster performance in defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 that cost him the middleweight title. But despite rumors that he was considering a move up to 205 pounds, the now former champion is adamant about sticking around middleweight to get his revenge.
As he prepares to make his wrestling debut at RAF 10 against Dillon Danis on Saturday, Chimaev cleared up any misconception that he was leaving 185 pounds and moving to light heavyweight. Instead, Chimaev was clear that he’s just waiting on word from the UFC about rebooking the fight with Strickland and he’s promising a much different result this time around.
“Of course, I’m going to go rematch [Sean Strickland],” Chimaev said during the RAF 10 press conference on Friday. “I don’t lose the fight, I lost for the judges. Next time, I’m going to go take his head off.
“But I trying to get him, he doesn’t want to go out to the gym. He’s speaking about his shoulder. I’m just waiting on Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell] to bring the guy out to the cage.”
There was a lot of bad blood between Chimaev and Strickland leading up to their first fight with the UFC employing extra security and even putting the fighters in separate locations to ensure there was no altercation prior to the event.
In the octagon that night, Chimaev got off to an early start but then it was clear his conditioning was fading and Strickland was able to do most of his damage on the feet.
When it was over, Strickland scored a split decision victory to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion and afterwards admitted he was just trying to sell the fight with some of the nasty comments made towards Chimaev.
But whether or not they’re still treating each other as mortal enemies doesn’t matter as much to Chiamev as avenging that loss and redeeming himself after a tough outing the first time around.
In the meantime, Chiamev is staying busy after inking his deal with RAF and he’s excited to go back to his roots in wrestling, starting with his match against Danis on Saturday.
“I’m just making money everywhere,” Chimaev said. “That’s why we’re fighting this guy as well. He’s a money check for me.”
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