Khamzat Chimaev News

Harry Kettle - April 29, 2026

Former UFC star Darren Till believes Khamzat Chimaev faces a tough test against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 next weekend. Next Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev will defend the UFC middleweight championship against Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328. It will serve as a golden opportunity for Khamzat to finally start building some consistency in the cage when it comes to his activity, after many years of not really being an ‘active’ fighter compared to some of his peers.

Curtis Calhoun - April 28, 2026

A former UFC champion believes Khamzat Chimaev faces an internal battle as he prepares to face Sean Strickland at UFC 328. One of the biggest UFC fights of the year is just weeks away as UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev prepares to return to the Octagon to face former titleholder Sean Strickland at UFC 328. After earning the UFC middleweight belt last year at UFC 319, Chimaev will look to hand Strickland another title fight loss and provide finality to their long-standing feud.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 26, 2026

Paulo Costa has a warning for Khamzat Chimaev, and he advises the reigning 205-pound champion to stay away from light heavyweight. Costa recently moved up in weight to face Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 327. “Borrachinha” scored a third-round TKO finish. While Costa initially didn’t commit to making the 205-pound move permanent, he recently suggested that he’ll stick around at light heavyweight.

Curtis Calhoun - April 23, 2026

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev didn’t hold back in response to Ronda Rousey’s recent harsh criticism of the promotion. UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is weeks away from her highly anticipated return to Mixed Martial Arts after a 10-year absence. Rousey and fellow women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano headline a stacked card on Netflix next month, featuring the returns of Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, and former UFC heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2026

It’s possible that Khamzat Chimaev and Brendan Allen will collide in the UFC Octagon in the next couple of years. That didn’t stop the pair from linking up for a sparring session. Chimaev, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, crossed paths with Allen, his division’s No. 4-ranked contender, at Santo Studio in California.

Curtis Calhoun - April 20, 2026

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev is feeling extremely generous ahead of his return to the Octagon at UFC 328. One of the most intriguing fights of the UFC’s calendar year is days away as middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and former titleholder Sean Strickland prepare to settle their long-standing beef at UFC 328. In less than two weeks, Chimaev will return to the Octagon to defend his title against Strickland, and tensions continue to escalate ahead of fight night.

Curtis Calhoun - April 20, 2026

The UFC will have an excruciatingly difficult time keeping Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev apart in the days before UFC 328. One of the biggest fights of the year features UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev defending his belt for the first time against former titleholder Sean Strickland at UFC 328 next month. A few years removed from the two brash personalities training together at Xtreme Couture, tensions are extremely high ahead of their highly anticipated showdown.

BJ Penn Staff - April 20, 2026

Reigning UFC middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev has signed with RAF (Real American Freestyle). It sounds like he could be involved in some huge matchups within the organization. RAF specializes in freestyle wrestling matches. Despite being just a few years old, the promotion has made some big waves. Thats thanks largely to its signing of high profile UFC fighters and MMA veterans like Arman Tsarukyan, Colby Covington, Henry Cejudo, Merab Dvalishvili, Bo Nickal, and now Chimaev.

Cole Shelton - April 16, 2026

Khamzat Chimaev has issued a harsh warning to Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 328. Chimaev is set to defend his middleweight title in the main event of UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, New Jersey. Heading into the bout, Chimaev is a sizable betting favorite, and he not only expects to beat Strickland but also to dominate him. And,

Harry Kettle - April 10, 2026

UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev has questioned the nature of Arman Tsarukyan’s side quests outside of the promotion. Right now, Arman Tsarukyan is on the outside of the lightweight title picture looking in. After not getting the call to compete for the interim title at the start of the year, he has been left to sit and wait to see what’s going to happen between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 8, 2026

Jorge Masvidal isn’t entertained when he watches Khamzat Chimaev in action. Chimaev is the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion. He took the 185-pound gold thanks to his grappling dominance over Dricus du Plessis back in Aug. 2025. “Borz” almost had 22 minutes of control time on his way to a one-sided unanimous decision win.

Harry Kettle - April 8, 2026

UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev has hit back at those questioning his inactivity ahead of his return to action. At UFC 328, Khamzat Chimaev will defend the UFC middleweight championship against Sean Strickland. Given the larger than life personality of his American challenger, this is likely to be one of the spiciest build-ups to a bout that Khamzat has had in his career thus far.

Harry Kettle - April 7, 2026

UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev has made an interesting claim regarding the health of his finances. At UFC 328, Khamzat Chimaev will defend his UFC middleweight championship against rival and former champion Sean Strickland. While many are expecting Khamzat to retain the belt, Sean always seems to have a surprise or two up his sleeve, as he proved in his own title win against Israel Adesanya a few years back.

Curtis Calhoun - April 3, 2026

One prominent UFC analyst believes Sean Strickland presents a head-scratching puzzle for Khamzat Chimaev to solve at UFC 328. Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland received a faster path to another title shot quicker than most expected when Khamzat Chimaev won the belt last year at UFC 319. After an impressive win over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston, Strickland will challenge for Chimaev’s title in the UFC 328 main event next month in Newark.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 2, 2026

Joe Pyfer believes there is a key game plan to give Khamzat Chimaev fits. Pyfer has been rising up the middleweight rankings, and his stock has never been higher after stopping former 185-pound king Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle. Pyfer could eventually find himself in a title fight, and he’ll be keeping a close eye on the UFC 328 main event between Chimaev and Sean Strickland.

Harry Kettle - April 2, 2026

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on Sean Strickland’s upcoming fight against Khamzat Chimaev. At UFC 328, Sean Strickland will get his chance to try and become a two-time UFC middleweight champion when he challenges Khamzat Chimaev for the belt. While many favor Chimaev to win, Sean certainly has the skills necessary to cause him some real problems.

BJ Penn Staff - March 31, 2026

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is used to being the smaller man in a lot of his sparring sessions. However, it’s not often we see him dwarfed by a training partner like he was during a recent meet-up with Khamzat Chimaev. Johnson, who will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer, lined up with reigning middleweight champ Chimaev at Santo Studios in California. As expected, they hit the mats for some training together. The size difference between them was quite stark—then again, it’s not often you see a natural flyweight and a very big middleweight side by side.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 26, 2026

Israel Adesanya wouldn’t be surprised if Sean Strickland can pull of a big upset over Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland will challenge Chimaev for the middleweight title on May 9 in the UFC 328 main event in Newark. While some felt Nassourdine Imavov would be the rightful No. 1 contender, Strickland leapfrogged the competition with his second-round TKO finish over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston back in February.