Khamzat Chimaev wants his runback with Sean Strickland.
Chimaev lost the middleweight title to Strickland in a very close decision at UFC 328 in May. Despite UFC CEO Dana White saying after the fight that Chimaev told him he wanted to move up to light heavyweight, Chimaev’s message since the first loss of his career has been quite clear: He wants his second opportunity to face Strickland.
That message continued on Monday with another social media post.
“Accept the fight, don’t run, I’ll beat you anyway,”
Chimaev wrote to Strickland on Twitter. “The sooner this happens, the easier it will be to breathe.”
Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis in a completely lopsided affair to win the title at UFC 319 in August 2025. “Borz” earned his shot with a teeth-shattering submission of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October 2024, and is now 15-1 as a pro after dropping the decision to Strickland.
As a far as Strickland goes, all he’s shared with fans in regards to his next move is that he’s targeting December to get back in the octagon.
