Khamzat Chimaev’s loss seems to be hitting a few of his followers far tougher than the fighter himself.
On Saturday, Chimaev defended his middleweight title for the primary time towards former champion Sean Strickland in the principle occasion of UFC 328 on the Prudential Middle in Newark, New Jersey, however the night time unfolded far otherwise than he had doubtless envisioned.
Though “Borz” got here out robust with a formidable first spherical fueled by his trademark grappling-heavy assault, securing an early takedown and controlling Strickland on the bottom for practically your entire spherical, he struggled to keep up that very same depth because the struggle wore on.
Chimaev discovered himself repeatedly consuming stiff lead jabs from Strickland, with the fixed strain forcing him onto the again foot and making him more and more reluctant to shoot for takedowns. Regardless of that, the defending champion nonetheless had his moments, touchdown a number of sharp strikes of his personal and making a number of rounds razor shut.
In the long run, nevertheless, Strickland’s relentless quantity and cleaner accuracy swayed the judges, incomes him two 48-47 scorecards, whereas the third choose scored it 48-47 for Chimaev, resulting in a narrow split-decision defeat for “Borz”.
What was already a heartbreaking night time for Khamzat Chimaev and his supporters has seemingly turned much more tragic for 2 of his Uzbekistani followers.
UFC 328 Shock Turns Darkish As Two Uzbekistani Followers Reportedly Die By Suicide After Dropping Mortgage Cash On Khamzat Chimaev
On Sunday night time, a number of heartbreaking posts surfaced throughout social media claiming that two males from Uzbekistan had taken out huge loans after apparently promoting their automobiles and even their wives’ jewellery to put large bets on Khamzat Chimaev staying undefeated at UFC 328.
However after “Borz” misplaced his middleweight title to Sean Strickland, each males reportedly took their very own lives within the tragic aftermath of the occasion. As of now, no official assertion or affirmation from authorities relating to the incident has been launched.
Following UFC 328, Khamzat Chimaev’s skilled document now stands at 15-1. Previous to the setback, “Borz” had built an undefeated 9-0 run inside the UFC with notable wins over elite names comparable to Robert Whittaker, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman.
The Chechen-born star had captured the 185-pound title at UFC 319 in August 2025, the place he dominated Dricus Du Plessis en path to a commanding unanimous determination victory.
