Khamzat Chimaev broke his silence following his split-decision loss to Sean Strickland in the UFC 328 main event this past weekend, suggesting he could face the newly crowned middleweight champion again despite comments from UFC CEO Dana White about a possible move to light heavyweight.
Chimaev surrendered the UFC middleweight title to Strickland in the headline bout at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, marking the first defeat of his professional career. The former champion left the Octagon without conducting a post-fight interview before later posting a brief statement on social media.
“[Sean Strickland] see you soon again,” Chimaev wrote on X.
The two fighters are former training partners, though White indicated after the event that Chimaev may no longer intend to compete at 185-pounds following what appeared to be a difficult weight cut ahead of UFC 328.
“[Khamzat] 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,’” White said at the UFC 328 post-fight press conference.
White did not speculate on a potential opponent for Chimaev at light heavyweight but expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of the fighter changing divisions.
“I’m not even thinking about [who he’ll fight next],” White said. “But him moving up is exciting.”
Chimaev has previously discussed a move to 205 pounds and has called out former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the past. Despite White’s comments, the close nature of the loss to Strickland could still leave the door open for a rematch at middleweight in the future.
