Sean Strickland defied the odds at UFC 328, defeating Khamzat Chimaev to become a two-time middleweight world champion.

It took Chimaev less than 20 seconds to get Strickland to the mat, securing an early double leg and locking onto the ex-champ’s back. ‘Borz’ maintained control through the remainder of the round, though he offered little in the way of offense.

Chimaev went right back to the takedown in the second, but Strickland sprawled and secured top control. Once settled, Strickland landed some solid strikes before letting Chimaev back to his feet. Once upright, Chimaev attempted to get things to the mat again.

His plan ultimately backfired, allowing Strickland to get top control near the fence and rain down more strikes until the end of the stanza.

With Chimaev’s tank already running on empty, ‘Borz’ opted to stand and trade with Strickland throughout round three. Both fighters landed shots, but Strickland was the more active fighter as he continued to pump his jab.

Chimaev continued to abandon his grappling game in the fourth, which seemed to help replenish the defending titleholder’s gas tank. Chimaev mixed up his strikes and drew blood from Strickland’s nose. Strickland continued to punish Chimaev with his jab, prompting ‘Borz’ to finally shoot in for another takedown.

Chimaev got Strickland to the mat with less than a minute to go and racked up control time for the remainder of the round.

With the fight potentially tied 2-2, it was winner-take-all in the fifth and final round.

Perhaps realizing that, Chimaev shot in for an early round takedown, getting Strickland to the canvas in the process. Strickland slowly worked his way up and separated before getting back to work with his jab. ‘Borz’ was happy to stand and strike until the final minute, when he landed another takedown on ‘Tarzan.’

Strickland broke away with 35 seconds to go, but was unable to land anything significant with the time remaining.

That took us to the scorecards, where

Official Result: Sean Strickland def. Khamzat Chimaev via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to win the UFC middleweight world championship.

Check Out Highlights From Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland at UFC 328:

Craig Pekios

Craig Pekios is a freelance writer born and raised in Bettendorf, IA. Joining LowKick MMA in May 2022, Craig has more than 4,000 articles published that focus on the world of MMA and boxing, including news, event previews, results, analysis, and op-eds.