Two-Time King: What's Next for Sean Strickland After the Biggest Upset of 2026

A Fight He Almost Didn't Have His Best For

The win over Chimaev was remarkable on its own merits — a +400 underdog taking down an undefeated champion who'd steamrolled everyone in front of him. But the backstory makes it even more absurd.

During the post-fight press conference in Newark, Strickland revealed that he separated his shoulder just four days before the biggest fight of his career. While sparring with PFL middleweight champion Johnny Eblen at Plinio Cruz's gym on Tuesday, Strickland was driven into a wall and suffered a grade-one AC joint separation.

He described lying in bed Tuesday night unable to roll onto his right side, mentally berating himself for the mistake. Before the fight, he scaled back his warm-up entirely to avoid aggravating the injury. He then went out and outworked the most feared grappler in the middleweight division over 25 minutes — with a busted shoulder.

On top of that, Strickland left the Octagon with a broken nose to go along with the belt. The man was literally falling apart and still found a way to make history.

Inside the Fight: How Strickland Solved the Chimaev Puzzle

The blueprint for beating Chimaev had always been theoretical. Everyone knew the Chechen-born champion would shoot early and often — the question was whether anyone could survive it long enough to make the fight ugly for him in the later rounds.

Strickland answered that question definitively.

Chimaev dominated the first round with his wrestling, keeping Strickland stuck on the mat for most of the frame. It was the kind of opening five minutes that had historically broken opponents — du Plessis never recovered from a similar start at UFC 319.

But Strickland isn't du Plessis.

In the second round, something shifted. Strickland started stuffing Chimaev's takedown attempts, and in a stunning reversal, actually put the champion on his back. It was a moment that seemed to change the entire complexion of the fight. Chimaev, perhaps recognizing that his wrestling advantage was eroding as the sweat built up and the fatigue set in, began standing and trading with Strickland — exactly the fight Strickland wanted.

The third and fourth rounds played out almost entirely on the feet, with Chimaev landing the harder individual shots but Strickland pouring on volume with his jab, check hooks, and teeps. Dricus du Plessis had predicted exactly this scenario before the fight, telling Fight Forecast that Chimaev's striking was powerful but predictable, and that Strickland's defense was too good to crack without setups Chimaev didn't possess.

The fifth round was chaos. Chimaev opened with another takedown, but Strickland scrambled free quickly and the final minutes turned into a phone booth war. Both men swung wildly as the clock wound down. Dana White later said he had it 2-2 going into the last round and gave Strickland the fifth — the same conclusion two of three judges reached.

The scorecards read 48-47 Strickland, 47-48 Chimaev, 48-47 Strickland. A razor-thin margin that will be debated for years.

Time Off with His Wife — Then Back to Work

Strickland made it clear at the post-fight presser that he's not rushing into anything. After more than six months in camp with his wife — who he credited as his dietitian and full-time support system — the new champion wants to decompress.

He explained that camp life means no weekends, no travel, no going out to eat. His wife had sacrificed alongside him through the entire grueling process, and he felt she deserved the break as much as he did.

But Strickland being Strickland, the break comes with an agenda. He said he wants to attend UFC Freedom 250 to support his close friend Alex Pereira in the former light heavyweight champion's pursuit of a historic third division title at the UFC's marquee White House event. After that — once the broken nose heals — Strickland says the division needs to keep moving.

Imavov Is Next

Strickland didn't leave much ambiguity about who's getting the first crack at his belt. When asked about his next opponent, the champion pointed directly at Nassourdine Imavov, the No. 1-ranked contender who many felt deserved the title shot Strickland received over him.

Imavov had ripped off five straight victories heading into UFC 328, including back-to-back main event wins over Israel Adesanya and Caio Borralho. The UFC reportedly refused Imavov's request to fight du Plessis, instead telling him they want to offer him a title shot exclusively.

The matchup isn't new territory for either man. Strickland and Imavov previously fought at UFC Vegas 67 in January 2023, a light heavyweight bout that Strickland won by unanimous decision after stepping in as a late replacement.

Strickland acknowledged the rankings should matter and said he doesn't believe in fighters jumping the line. But he also made one thing explicitly clear: he's never fighting outside of America again. When asked about a potential international venue for the Imavov fight, Strickland shut it down immediately, declaring he won't leave the country for a fight.

Chimaev Exits the Division

Perhaps the most significant development for Strickland's reign is what happened after the final bell on the other side. According to Dana White, Chimaev walked up to the UFC CEO immediately after the fight and told him he's done at middleweight.

Chimaev, who reportedly cut nearly 50 pounds to make 185, had been visibly struggling at the weigh-ins Friday morning. His teammate Arman Tsarukyan had revealed the extent of the weight cut earlier in the week, and Strickland himself accused Chimaev of not legitimately making the championship limit.

White confirmed at the post-fight presser that a move to light heavyweight is happening, effectively eliminating the possibility of an immediate rematch. Chimaev leaves the middleweight division with a résumé that includes dominant wins over du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, and Kamaru Usman — but now carries his first professional loss at 15-1.

With Chimaev gone, the middleweight landscape resets around Strickland. Imavov is the clear next challenger. Du Plessis — who jokingly reacted to the result by saying it makes him "world champion again" — lurks as a potential future opponent. And a new generation of contenders is rising behind them.

The Legacy Question

Strickland's career arc is unlike anything the UFC has seen. A fighter written off as a volume striker with a ceiling, who shocked the world by dethroning Adesanya in 2023, lost the belt to du Plessis, lost the rematch, and then clawed his way back to upset the most dominant champion the division had seen since Anderson Silva's peak.

At 35 with a 31-7 record, Strickland now owns the most significant strikes landed in middleweight division history with over 1,575. He holds the second-most significant strikes in overall UFC history at 2,307. He's a four-time Performance of the Night winner, a two-time champion, and the only man to ever beat Khamzat Chimaev.

The critics will point to the split decision, to the close scorecards, to the argument that Chimaev's weight cut compromised him. Strickland couldn't care less. He fought with a separated shoulder and a broken nose and still took the belt home to his wife.

Whatever happens next — Imavov, du Plessis, or someone else entirely — the middleweight division belongs to Sean Strickland. Again.

UFC 328 took place on May 9, 2026, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland defeated Chimaev via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion.