Khamzat Chimaev might be done with the middleweight division following UFC 328.

Chimaev no longer lays claim to the 185-pound gold and he has suffered the first defeat of his pro MMA career. “Borz” shared the Octagon with Sean Strickland in Newark this past Saturday. While Chimaev was widely expected to turn in a dominant grappling display, there were some experts who felt Strickland could avoid the wrestling enough to make things interesting.

Once Strickland forced the fight to turn into a standup battle, “Borz” was in the challenger’s world. Strickland got the better of Chimaev on the feet enough to score the split nod. He is now a two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. Both men ended up squashing their beef once the result was finalized.

During the UFC 328 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White revealed he was told by Chimaev that a move to 205 pounds is in his future.

“He literally walked up to me after the fight and said, ‘I want to move up. I don’t want to fight in this weight class anymore,”” White recalled.

White then theorized that Chimaev had trouble balancing things as his popularity grew and the pressure mounted, which may have led to some weight-cutting issues.

“Ever since Fight Island, he’s gone on a run,” White said. “Won the world title, did everything that he said he was going to do, but with the level of success and lifestyle, it makes it tough.”

Regardless, White has been in awe of Chimaev since his UFC debut back in 2020.

“When you see somebody fight for the first time and you’re like, ‘Wow, this guy is special,’ and they become a world champion in the UFC, yeah. I would say so.”

There are a slew of fresh matchups available for Chimaev if he decides to make the move to light heavyweight official. “Borz” had already teased making a change in weight class prior to his bout with Strickland.

Do you think Khamzat Chimaev should make a permanent move to 205 pounds? Chime in with your opinion in the comments.