Published On 10 May 202610 May 2026Sean Strickland has won the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound championship for the second time in his career, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision in a bout that never rose to the level of vitriol and threats of violence outside the cage that both fighters engaged in in advance of the main event of UFC 328.Strickland won two scorecards 48-47, while Chimaev took the third scorecard at 48-47 in front of a crowd of 17,783 fans at the Prudential Center on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listStrickland, the second former middleweight to regain the title, mimed putting the belt around his waist after the fifth round ended to wrap up a fight where neither fighter ever seemed in serious danger. He had help with his shiny new fashion accessory when Chimaev did the honours for him inside the cage. Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland embrace after their fight [Ishika Samant/Getty Images via AFP]UFC beefed up security at hotels, public events, and around the cage for the fight following one of the more loathsome displays – specifically, from Strickland – of trash talk in recent fight history. Strickland threatened to shoot Chimaev and labelled him a “terrorist” because of his ties to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.Chimaev, who lost for the first time in 16 professional fights, is of Chechen ethnicity and fights under the United Arab Emirates banner. He had countered by saying he would “take off” Strickland’s head.The fighters tapped gloves to start the fight to prove they were professionals, and the prefight hostilities never spilled over into the cage. Advertisement The 35-year-old Strickland, who won the 185-pound (84k …
