Joe Rogan thinks Khamzat Chimaev may have bulked up too much prior to UFC 328 loss: “He was thinking he was going to fight Jiri Prochazka”

Joe Rogan wonders if Khamzat Chimaev may have hindered his performance by overbulking.

Chimaev was expecting to turn in another dominant showing in the UFC 328 main event, but that didn’t happen. Sean Strickland had an answer for Chimaev’s grappling past the opening frame, and he made the clash in Newark a standup affair. The highly competitive title fight went the distance and Strickland was awarded the unanimous decision win and the UFC middleweight title.

There had been some concern over Chimaev’s weight cut prior to fight night. “Borz” looked noticeably drained during the early morning weigh-ins. Some even debated whether or not Chimaev truly made weight, which UFC CEO Dana White vehemently shut down when speaking to reporters.

At the conclusion of the UFC 328 broadcast, Rogan brought up the possibility that Chimaev got heavier than usual because he initially considered fighting for the light heavyweight title (via MMAJunkie).

“It was a good question because it could have been a factor, the fact that he did try to bulk up,” Rogan said. “He was thinking that he was going to fight Jiri Prochazka for 205.”

Rogan then discussed how Strickland’s past experience sparring with Chimaev gave him an advantage that very few top middleweight contenders have.

“It was an incredible fight, an incredibly close fight,” Rogan said. “Sean knew him from training. They both knew each other from training. So there’s that element to it that they kind of knew what to expect because they had interacted with each other before, at least in a sparring way.”

White revealed to media members that Chimaev informed him that he plans to move up to the light heavyweight division. Despite this, Chimaev appears to be calling for a title rematch with Strickland on social media.

Do you think Khamzat Chimaev’s weight-cutting issues played a factor in what transpired at UFC 328, or was Sean Strickland simply the better fighter on fight night? Sound off in the comments below.