Cope? Khamzat’s teammates can’t ‘understand’ UFC 328 defeat — ‘Hard for me to watch’

Rountree admitted he was emotionally invested in the fight and still scored it for Chimaev.

“The first round was great, the second round things took a huge turn,” Rountree continued. “Then after round three — after that round was done I remember checking off a box and giving that round to Khamzat, I’m biased. Round four, I was like okay, cool — we’re up three rounds going into five and then round five I blurred.

“So, all to say, I think he did enough to win the fight — rounds 1, 3 and 4,” he added. “I think if a rematch happens, things look completely different.”

Former UFC Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who also trained with Chimaev during camp — and openly dislikes Strickland — agreed.

“Maybe that’s why he won,” Rockhold said when referencing Strickland’s massive underdog odds. “I think Khamzat won the fourth and fifth round. He controlled the pace of how that fight finished and that is what champions who deserve the championship do.”

Rockhold also questioned the scoring criteria and implied outside narratives may have influenced the decision.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Rockhold said. “The only thing that makes sense is that he was a +500 underdog and sometimes things gets sketchy. Maybe it was who they wanted to win.”

In the end, both fighters pointed to Chimaev’s brutal weight cut as a possible factor behind the uncharacteristic performance — and both believe a rematch would end very differently.

Time will tell.