UFC 328, The Morning After: Khamzat’s Fatal Flaw Finally Strikes

All of this is to say again: everybody knows Khamzat’s Achilles Heel. Until Sean Strickland faced him at UFC 328 last night (Sat., May 9, 2026), however, it never actually cost Chimaev his undefeated record or championship belt.

What separated Strickland from the rest? Having five rounds to work certainly helped. More vitally, Strickland has always been good at outlasting his opposition. He usually does so on the feet with his jab-and-teep style, but Strickland has turned away many takedown attempts and then been the busier man late. In a way, he’s been preparing for a style like Khamzat his entire career.

This defeat puts Khamzat in a strange position. On one hand, he remains one of the two best wrestlers in the sport. His submission game is devastating and can still finish anybody who does not mind their position very carefully. Russian wrestling has never been more dominant in the UFC, and “Borz” is still one of the finest representatives.

Yet, a bad gas tank is among the worst flaws a fighter can suffer. There are countless examples of mediocre fighters beating up much more skilled and athletic ones simply because the latter man is too tired to do anything. A fighter could be worse than Khamzat at wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and kickboxing, yet still defeat him through persistence and good strategy.

Now that Strickland has succeeded, more will try. The four-minute mile was once considered impossible, but after it was accomplished, it grew common. This loss has cost Khamzat his aura and fearsome reputation, because the whole roster saw him pull guard twice in round two. Everybody from Bo Nickal to Jiri Prochazka knows that if they can scramble hard for five minutes, they’ll be dealing with an entirely different man sooner than later.

Is there a fix? Not without revamping his entire attack. Khamzat is already working with one of the sport’s top conditioning athletes, but the problem remains: he’s a sprinter. He’s built to charge. Wrestling is an absurdly intense activity not meant to be done for 25 minutes, and now future opposition has a roadmap to follow.

As it stands, Chimaev is a nearly unique kind of glass cannon. With that term, we usually think of men like Alistair Overeem, big hitters who could be knocked out by any seemingly innocuous blow. Chimaev, conversely, can absolutely dominate and potentially finish anybody, yet there’s also a hole in his game that any fighter could theoretically exploit.

The Light Heavyweight division is officially on notice.

For complete UFC 328 results and play-by-play, click here.