Kamaru Usman: Strickland backed up the whole time, lost to Chimaev

Kamaru Usman: Strickland backed up the whole time, lost to Chimaev

Kamaru Usman disagrees with the outcome of the UFC 328 main event.

Khamzat Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) by split decision this past Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

All three judges had the same scorecard after four rounds, but it was Round 5 that was the difference maker. While Strickland outlanded Chimaev in the fight, Usman thinks "Borz" should have been credited for pressing forward and landing nine takedowns.

"I do give the fight to Khamzat Chimaev," Usman said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Henry Cejudo. "Slight margin, I say 48-47 Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland stayed on his feet for the most part. I don't understand how you win the fight when you're kind of backing up the whole time. You were backing up the whole time and you threw nothing but jabs, really. ... So one guy is marching forward, he's throwing jabs as well, and he's mixing it up, he's throwing overhands, and he does get some takedowns in there, and he did this for almost five rounds. I don't see how he loses the fight. The other guy just backed up and jabs the whole time."

Chimaev comfortably took Round 1 after taking Strickland down and controlling him. Strickland was able to rally in Round 2 after Chimaev looked tired and pulled guard. The remaining three rounds were competitive, but it was Strickland who ultimately got the nod.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman thinks Khamzat Chimaev beat Sean Strickland at UFC 328