Khamzat Chimaev team questions UFC 328 loss

Khamzat Chimaev’s first MMA loss still does not sit right with some of the people who helped him prepare for UFC 328. Sean Strickland officially beat Chimaev by split decision in Newark and walked out as the UFC middleweight champion again, but the debate around that fight has not slowed down.

Khalil Rountree was one of the voices who looked at the result with real confusion. He trained with Chimaev before the Strickland fight, saw him up close in camp, and said the performance was hard to watch because it did not look like the version of Khamzat he knew from training.

That kind of reaction is different from a fan arguing about scorecards online. Rountree was in the room before fight night. He had felt the pressure, pace and strength Chimaev was bringing into the camp. So when he says something looked off, it adds a more personal layer to the loss.

Still, the official result is clear. Strickland won the fight, took the belt and handed Chimaev the first defeat of his career. The argument now is not whether the record changes. It is about why Chimaev looked less dominant than the people around him expected.

Rockhold questions scorecards

Luke Rockhold also pushed back on the way the fight was judged. He trained with Chimaev as well and believed Khamzat had a strong case, especially in the later rounds. Rockhold said he thought Chimaev controlled the pace down the stretch and did enough to leave with the title.

• Sean Strickland officially defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision at UFC 328.
• Khalil Rountree said the fight was hard to watch because Chimaev did not look like himself.
• Luke Rockhold questioned the scoring and believed Chimaev had a strong case late.
• Chimaev’s team is now pushing for a rematch with Strickland.

Rockhold’s reaction is not surprising if you know where he stood before the fight. He has trained with Chimaev, he has never hidden his dislike for Strickland, and he knows what a close championship fight can do to everyone watching from the corners and the camp. But even with that bias in mind, his comments show how divided the fight still feels to the people closest to Chimaev.

UFC 328 reaction

Chimaev looked different

The most interesting part is not that Chimaev’s teammates wanted him to win. Of course they did. The part that matters is how many people around him are talking about the same thing: he did not look like the fighter they expected.

That does not take anything away from Strickland. If anything, it may say more about what Strickland did well. He did not let Chimaev run through him early. He made the fight awkward, kept it close, forced long exchanges and turned the night into the kind of five-round argument where every small moment mattered.

Chimaev had strong positions. Strickland had steady work. Chimaev had control. Strickland had enough clean minutes to convince two judges. That is why the fight is still being discussed. It was not a one-sided beating. It was a tense, uncomfortable title fight where both sides can find rounds they want to claim.

For Chimaev, the problem is bigger than just one scorecard. His whole rise was built on certainty. He entered fights with the feeling that sooner or later he would take over. Against Strickland, that feeling never fully arrived. He had moments, but not the kind of stamp that makes a close fight easy to score.

Rematch talk grows

The reaction from Rountree and Rockhold gives Chimaev’s rematch push more fuel. His team already wants Strickland again, and comments from people who trained with him will only keep the debate alive. They believe something was off. They believe the fight deserved another look. They believe Chimaev can be much better in a second meeting.

The UFC may not move that quickly. Strickland has the belt, medical issues after the fight and other contenders watching the division closely. A close result does not automatically guarantee an immediate rematch, especially when the new champion may want a different name next.

But Chimaev is still one of the biggest fighters in the middleweight picture, and the noise around UFC 328 has not faded. His teammates are not letting the loss become a quiet line on his record. They are keeping the conversation open, and in MMA, that can matter almost as much as the argument itself.

For now, Strickland is the champion. Chimaev is the former champion chasing the fight back. Rountree and Rockhold are saying what many inside Chimaev’s circle seem to feel: the result is official, but the story does not feel finished.