Khamzat Chimaev Vs. Sean Strickland Predictions – ‘He's Just A Bad Style'

Khamzat Chimaev makes his first middleweight title defence against Sean Strickland, as pros picked their winner.

Chimaev claimed the title at UFC 319 in August 2025, taking a unanimous decision over Dricus du Plessis. He landed 12 takedowns across five rounds — tied for the third-most in any UFC title fight — and controlled the fight so completely that du Plessis had no answer for either the wrestling or the striking. Strickland lost the belt to du Plessis in their first fight, lost the rematch, and appeared to be fading from contention entirely before stopping Anthony Hernandez by TKO in the third round in February.

Predictions

“I’ll go with Strickland. I’ll go with the American. Why not? It’s not so lopsided to me. I like Strickland. I like this style. He brings all the things to the table that make this a real fight. His style of striking is built for a wrestler to try to take him down. If there was a guy that could challenge Khamzat, this is the guy. We need to see it. I like it. I’ll take him. Why not? Let’s go American,” Dominick Cruz said

“Strickland is one of the best fighters on planet Earth. So is Khamzat. But Strickland is also a legitimate world champion. He’s a guy who’s accustomed to five-rounders. He’s got phenomenal cardio. He’s one of the hardest guys to hit in the sport. One-hundred percent, he has a shot. (He has) underrated grappling. Listen to me as an expert, allegedly: He’s got some of the best takedown defense in the game, underrated grappling. Strickland has a legit chance,” Joe Rogan said

“I know he went up to 185 and did some big things, but I don’t think he beats Strickland. I’m dumping the house on Strickland. I don’t even think Chimaev fights him because they’ve trained a lot. He’s just a bad style for him. “I’ve seen Sean go with good wrestlers over at American Top Team – guys who have wrestled their whole life, All-Americans, national champions. Dude, this guy can wrestle defensively. He never uses his wrestling in a fight, but if you try to wrestle with him, you quickly realize this guy can wrestle back, and that costs a lot of energy, and Chimaev doesn’t have the best gas tank,” Jorge Masvidal said

“I think he [Chimaev] beats Sean. I think Sean is at the end of his career, looking for one last paycheque. I think he takes him down and makes it look pretty easy,” Colby Covington stated

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