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Chimaev (15-1) lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland (31-7) in a shocking upset this past May. “Borz” was visibly drained in the second round, forced to abandon his wrestling and fought the rest of the fight on the feet, where he was outworked by Strickland. Chimaev’s coach has now detailed why he struggled in the bout.
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Murad Bichuev says Chimaev was preparing for Jiri Prochazka before returning to middleweight
Bichuev claims Chimaev was originally bulking up to move up to light heavyweight to fight Jiri Prochazka. However, the UFC allegedly then changed plans and told Chimaev to defend his middleweight title against Strickland instead. According to Bichuev, they had a short window to prepare for the fight against Strickland, which led to weight-cut issues for a bulked-up Chimaev.
“The weight cut was an issue because he was initially set to face Procházka at 205,” Bichuev told Red Corner MMA. “So, we were mostly focusing on his physique. He started gaining muscle. He was gaining weight more than before. And then they said, ‘No, we’re leaving this option aside; you have to fight Strickland at 185.’ That’s why we didn’t have much time and we faced more problems than we expected.”
Chimaev was teasing a move up to light heavyweight after claiming the middleweight belt. Following his loss against Strickland, Dana White said that the Chechen-born fighter was determined to move up. However, Chimaev has since been rallying for a rematch against Strickland, repeatedly calling out the American on social media.
“Khamzat was gaining weight for Prochazka, but then they said it will be Strickland”
Khamzat Chimaev’s coach, Murad Bichuev, reveals the team was originally focused on preparing for a light heavyweight fight against Jiří Procházka before being switched to Sean Strickland at… pic.twitter.com/bHomveb86K
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) August 2, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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