Khamzat Chimaev wasted no time making his intentions known after suffering the first loss of his professional career at UFC 328, walking straight up to Dana White after the split decision defeat to Sean Strickland and delivering a clear message about his future.
White revealed the conversation at the UFC 328 post-fight press conference.
“He literally walked up to me after the fight and said ‘I want to move up. I don’t want to fight in this weight class anymore.’”
Chimaev had openly discussed moving to light heavyweight on multiple occasions before the title fight, and a difficult weight cut appeared to be a genuine factor in his performance. After a dominant opening round, his conditioning visibly faded as the fight progressed. He largely abandoned his wrestling for extended stretches and appeared to rely on his striking despite the weight cut appearing to have taken a toll.
White acknowledged the cut’s likely impact while praising Chimaev’s toughness for continuing to compete at a high level despite the circumstances.
“What was interesting was the first two times I saw him fight on Fight Island, he used to talk about his standup and his team all the time. I was saying we haven’t seen him stand up and really go toe-to-toe with somebody in a while. But I think he had a rough weight cut. He’s a tough guy. He’s a f***ing savage. I would expect him not to roll over and quit.”
White agreed with the scorecards that gave Strickland the victory, noting he had it tied going into the championship round.
“I had it two to two going into the last round. I thought Strickland won the last round.”
White expressed genuine excitement about the prospect of Chimaev moving up in weight, though he declined to name potential opponents.
“I’m not even thinking about who he’ll fight next. But him moving up is exciting.”