Judges Gonna Judge: Was Khamzat Chimaev robbed vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 328?

May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Sean Strickland (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Wells: Round 1 was the most decisive round of the fight, and had me thinking this was going to be over well before the final horn. Chimaev secured his first takedown within 15 seconds and kept the fight on the ground until the horn. He worked to submit Strickland with a choke, but there wasn't much damage.

Wells' score: 10-9 Chimaev

Hannoun: Perhaps the easiest round to score. Chimaev came out and did what everyone expected him to, which is take Strickland down with ease. It took him 15 seconds to get Strickland down, and although he didn't inflict much damage, he took his back and worked for the rear-naked choke for almost the entire round.

Hannoun's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Segura: It's pretty clear who won this one. If you judge it the other way, you outright don't know anything about scoring in MMA. Chimaev took down and kept down Strickland at will. This round could've easily been turned into a 10-8 if Chimaev opened up with ground-and-pound, but he just controlled and delivered no damage.

Segura's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Round 2

May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Sean Strickland (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Wells: Round 2 was the beginning of a typical Strickland fight, as he kept Chimaev interested in trading jabs and quick strikes. Chimaev shot in for a takedown, but this time he ended up pulling guard to keep the fight on the mat, accepting bottom position. The fight returned to the feet at the 2:20 mark. Chimaev shot in again, but after failing, he attempted another guard pull, appearing completely exhausted. Strickland quickly capitalized by taking the top position and landing a few short punches. Clearly a round for Strickland.

Wells' score: 10-9 Strickland

Hannoun: Strickland found success with his jab early, and landed some solid shots. Chimaev didn't shoot for a takedown until 90 seconds into the round, but Strickland defended easily and landed in top position. He eventually let Chimaev up, who proceeded to shoot again seconds later. This time, the shot looked labored and was defended even easier by Strickland. Chimaev's body language was concerning as he pulled guard and remained on bottom for the rest of the round, with no urgency to get up.

Another pretty easy round to score.

Hannoun's score: 10-9 Strickland

Segura: This was another clear round. Chimaev had no success with his wrestling. Not only did he get a takedown stuffed, but in his second attempt, he failed and pulled guard. This allowed Strickland to stay in a dominant position while landing ground-and-pound. Chimaev never really attempted getting up. He accepted the position and appeared to intentionally take the round off.

Segura's score: 10-9 Strickland

Round 3

May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Sean Strickland (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Wells: Chimaev landed a big right hand early that Strickland took on the jaw. He continued to get the better of the striking exchanges, working the body as well. About two minutes in, Strickland began finding the range with the jab again, but Chimaev answered with a big left hand. Strickland stuck with working behind the left jab, and landed a nice right hand midway through the round. Chimaev pressed forward throughout the round, popping Strickland's head back multiple times from clean punches. Although Strickland landed a higher volume, Chimaev's punches had more power – and that was apparent by the bloody nose he created. Damage over volume here, which is what the scoring criteria is supposed to favor.

Wells' score: 10-9 Chimaev

Hannoun: This round played out entirely on the feet with Chimaev looking to conserve energy. However, Chimaev had success on the feet by busting open Strickland's nose. The pair stood toe-to-toe, and although Chimaev was the advancing fighter, Strickland was the busier fighter who outlanded him in the round. Arguable with Chimaev's damage, but Strickland hit him a lot more.

Hannoun's score: 10-9 Strickland

Segura: Please, please, please rematch this round. Online, the talk seems to be that this was the swing round. However, it's not as close as people are making it out to be. When I was watching live, I scored it 10-9, Chimaev, but I recognized it was close. Upon rewatching it, it was still close, but I felt it was a more clear 10-9 for Chimaev. The Chechen fighter got a second wind and walked down Strickland. Strickland did throw a lot, but with little power, and the shots landed in Chimaev's high guard, not having a significant impact. On the other side, Chimaev walked down Strickland, landed a couple of body kicks, and connected with clean punches. In the last minute, Chimaev strings together several shots that snap back the head of Strickland. Chimaev also busts Strickland's nose open in the round and gets him bloodied up. Chimaev clearly does the bigger damage in the round despite having less volume.

Segura's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Round 4

May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Sean Strickland (blue gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Wells: Chimaev picked up where he left off in the previous round, marching forward with a stiff left hand while working punches and kicks to the body. It appeared Chimaev was fully confident in himself at this point, especially after landing a big right hand. Strickland circled to his left, offering jabs. Some got through, but more appeared to be caught by Chimaev's guard. It was Chimaev's variety of strikes here that scored well, plus the cleaner punches upstairs that added more damage to Strickland's busted nose. With just under a minute left, Chimaev scored a takedown and controlled Strickland until the horn. This one was a pretty easy round to score for Chimaev.

Wells' score: 10-9 Chimaev

Hannoun: Chimaev was comfortable keeping the fight on the feet. Strickland is now starting to slow down. Chimaev continued to press, but was busier than Strickland this time. Chimaev landed a big right which got Strickland's attention. Strickland tried to push Chimaev back with his jab, but Chimaev's shots had more impact. If there was any doubt on how to score this round, Chimaev sealed it by landing a takedown with less than a minute remaining.

Hannoun's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Segura: Chimaev used the same momentum he picked up towards the end of Round 3, which in my opinion got him to win it, to get himself another clear 10-9 here in Round 4. Chimaev walked down Strickland, and again, landed the bigger shots. But on top of having the more damaging strikes, Chimaev also had more volume than Strickland. Then add a takedown from Chimaev that summed up about a minute of control time. An easy 10-9 for Chimaev.

Segura's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Round 5

Wells: Chimaev immediately went to his wrestling game, getting Strickland to the mat a couple of times, but there was no damage in the opening sequences. Strickland returned to the center and went back to his usual jab and move game. Chimaev pressed forward as Strickland landed the left hand repeatedly. These punches appeared to find the target well. A few teep kicks were added to the mix as well to break up the stream of jabs. Chimaev got another takedown with just over a minute, but Strickland got up without damage taken again. A big right hand from Strickland connected as they started to let the strikes fly. Strickland was sharper here, as Chimaev's looping shots missed the mark. Chimaev had takedowns, but Strickland's striking was better here. If Chimaev did anything – anything at all with the takedowns, this could have been his round.

Wells' score: 10-9 Strickland

Hannoun: This was the toughest round to score and the deciding one. Chimaev immediately shot for a takedown and scored it. Strickland kept getting back up, but Chimaev was all over him. At the 3:50 mark, Strickland broke free. Strickland got back to work with his jab. The next minute was more activity from Strickland, but Chimaev continued to press forward. With 1:20 remaining, Chimaev shot for a takedown and got it again. Chimaev kept a hold of Strickland, who eventually shucked him off with 38 seconds left. Strickland landed a right hand, and Chimaev fired back. Very, very close round, but with the striking exchanges so close, the takedowns sealed it for Chimaev.

Hannoun's score: 10-9 Chimaev

Segura: This one was close. Chimaev had a good start. He closed the distance on Strickland and controlled him against the cage, while getting some takedowns. Little damage was done through the grappling, but a strike here and there connected on Chimaev. Up until the half of the round, Chimaev was winning out of just pure control with damage being absent. In the second half of the round, the fight was kept on the feet. This time around, Chimaev's volume and accuracy dropped. Strickland took advantage of a fading Chimaev and landed some clean punches. It was competitive, but Strickland did the most damage.

Segura's score: 10-9 Strickland

Was Chimaev robbed of the middleweight title?

May 9, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, UNITED STATES; Sean Strickland (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) during UFC 328 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

Wells: Unlike the official judges, I had this fight in Chimaev's favor going into the final round. For me, the swing round was Round 3 and not Round 5. I won't call this a robbery, because it appeared Chimaev, who had more ways to win the fight, simply left it on the table.

As we've seen throughout his career, Strickland's game scores well with cageside judges thanks to his upright style and jab volume. Opportunity for Chimaev's wrestling was there all night, but most of the fight unfolded as a high-level sparring session with jabs and light kicks, punctuated by the occasional stiffer punch. Whether it was fatigue from a big weight cut or a desire to beat Strickland at his own game, Chimaev allowed the judges to view this fight in the challenger's favor.

My scorecard is for Chimaev, but it's easy to see how 48-47 scores for Strickland made their way onto the official cards.

Wells' overall score: 48-47 Chimaev

Hannoun: Heading into Round 5, all three judges had the same scorecard. I did, too. Rounds 3 and 5 were the toughest to score. I scored Round 3 for Strickland for visibly outlanding Chimaev, but one can argue that Chimaev's damage could have given him the round. The same goes for Round 5. I scored it for Chimaev based off the takedowns, but one can argue that Strickland was the busier fighter.

So, robbery? That's not a fair way to describe this fight. I can see the argument for either fighter, but while watching it live, I had it for Chimaev, and my opinion remains the same. The best way to resolve this is to have them run it back – even though Nassourdine Imavov is a very worthy contender.

Hannoun's score: 48-47 Chimaev

Segura: Watching it live, I didn't think it was a robbery, but also not a coin flip. On a second viewing, I still don't think it's a robbery, but I do feel it was a fairly clear 48-47 fight for Chimaev. Rounds 1 and 4 were clear for Chimaev; Round 2 was clear for Strickland; and Rounds 3 and 5 were close.

Part of me thinks the judging and the fan scoring were swayed by Strickland surpassing expectations and Chimaev vastly underdelivering. Chimaev was supposed to run over Strickland. That's what the odds and the media painted a picture of, but that didn't happen. This dynamic only magnifies Strickland's efforts and Chimaev's errors and shortcomings. Chimaev should've kept his belt.

Segura's score: 48-47 Chimaev

Chimaev vs. Strickland official scorecard

Official decision: Sean Strickland def. Khamzat Chimaev via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

Official individual judges' scores:

• Eric Colon: 48-47 Strickland
• Sal D'Amato: 48-47 Strickland
• Sue Sanidad: 47-48 Chimaev

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Was the UFC 328 main event a robbery? We judge Strickland vs. Chimaev