“I don’t think Khamzat [Chimaev] is all that good”, per ex-BMF champ: “I’m putting all my money on [Sean] Strickland”

Khamzat Chimaev does not stand out as a particularly impressive mixed martial artist to a former BMF champion who feels like Sean Strickland would have the skills to unseat ‘Borz’ from his throne if that fight gets booked.

Jorge Masvidal was the ex-BMF titleholder in question, and the inaugural champ discussed this on the show that he regularly hosts, Death Row MMA. From that recent DRMMA podcast segment, with an excerpt posted to X account @RedCorner_MMA, Masvidal said,

“I don’t think [Khamzat Chimaev] is all that good… Look at the [Kamaru] Usman fight – Usman was a 170 pounder, took the fight on 11 days’ notice, and funny story, I had seen Usman like two days before he took that fight, out and about. I was out in Miami at a place known to stay open until like 6 am and I had seen him… I thought Chimaev lost that fight. Look at the tape, he won the first round, lost the second and third… I don’t think [Khamzat] beats [Sean] Strickland…. I’m dumping the house on Strickland.”

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland title bout reported by a source close to the former

Khamzat Chimaev is not officially confirmed for the first official defense of his UFC 185-pound crown, but someone close to him has reported info that has seemingly leaked a date for a Sean Strickland bout. A Russian reporter by the name of Adam Zubayraev posted to his X account a report regarding Chimaev supposedly defending his belt against Strickland at UFC 328. This is set to take place on May 9th in Newark, New Jersey.

Things began when Strickland posted to Instagram intimating that he would be next to fight for the UFC strap, and on his X account in the aforementioned tweet, Zubayraev stated,

“Whoever is managing Strickland’s schedule needs to cancel all his podcast recordings after May 9 because you can’t talk into a mic with a wired shut jaw.”

Also of note, a fan tweeted at Strickland asking about the May UFC card, with the former middleweight titleholder simply responding with ellipses. As of this writing, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has yet to confirm this bout, although many theorize it could be booked after Strickland’s emphatic win over Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez at UFC Houston.