Khamzat Chimaev releases staement following UFC 328 loss to Sean Strickland

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates and Sean Strickland of the United States hug after their middleweight title bout during UFC 328 at the Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Khamzat Chimaev might not be done with Sean Strickland.

Following his middleweight championship loss to Strickland in Saturday’s UFC 328 main event, Chimaev took to Twitter to offer a cryptic follow-up:

“See you again soon.”

Strickland won a narrow split decision over Chimaev to become a two-time UFC champion at 185 pounds, a feat only matched by Israel Adesanya (who Strickland defeated to win his first title at UFC 293). The scorecards were close, with Strickland earning the nod via 48-47 scores on two judges’ cards. Post-fight, the two were cordial—stark contrast to weeks of heated pre-fight trash talk—with Chimaev even putting the belt around Strickland’s waist.

It’s unclear exactly what Chimaev’s tweet meant as UFC CEO Dana White later told reporters that Chimaev plans to move up to light heavyweight after what looked to be a difficult middleweight cut this time around. Even before suffering his first loss, Chimaev had mentioned on multiple occasions that he would like to become a champion at 205 pounds.