Arman Tsarukyan says Khamzat Chimaev made weight before his UFC 328 title fight with Sean Strickland, but the final stretch of the cut sounded miserable.
Tsarukyan spoke in clips from the JAXXON Podcast shared on X. He pushed back on two claims at once. He said Chimaev did not cut 40 pounds during fight week, and he denied that Chimaev missed the middleweight limit before facing Strickland.
Tsarukyan said Chimaev was heavier at the start of camp, but only about 12 or 13 pounds remained near the end of fight week.
“We saw the whole camp. We were here from day one. He didn’t cut 40 pounds. No, no. From day one, he’s training him. Yeah, but they’re talking about the actual week of the camp. No, no. So I think people are confusing it. No, no. He had to cut 13 pounds.”
He then explained how the final day broke down.
“So at the beginning of the camp, yes, he was about 40 pounds overweight. He was getting ready, I think, for a light heavyweight fight. But the night before the fight, a day before the fight, only about 13 pounds was left. But it was hard for him to get off those 13 pounds.”
The final four pounds were the ugly part.
“First nine pounds was easy, and then he felt bad during the night. And then he woke up and said to us, ‘I feel so weak, no energy, and I don’t know how I’m gonna cut this last four pounds.’ But we just pushed him, you know. We pushed him so hard.”
When asked if Chimaev did not want to finish the cut, Tsarukyan answered directly.
“Yeah, he didn’t want to finish the cut. But the team, me and the coaches, we tried to push him to make it. He made weight.”
Watch the weight-cut clip below:
Arman Tsarukyan reveals how brutal Khamzat Chimaev’s weight cut was during the fight week
“From day 1 of his training camp, he cut 40lbs. He had to cut 13lbs on the last day. The first 9lbs was easy and he felt bad during the night, and then he woke up and said, ‘I feel so weak… pic.twitter.com/KVrj8NhL4E
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) May 15, 2026
Tsarukyan Says Chimaev Made Weight Before UFC 328
Tsarukyan also rejected the idea that Chimaev missed weight. He said UFC fighters go through a check before they are allowed onto the official scale.
“A lot of people saying he didn’t make the weight. He made the weight. No, he made the weight because before the official weigh-ins, you go to one more weigh-in where the UFC checks your weight, and he was good there. And then they let you go. If there is 186 on the automatic scale, you cannot go to the official one.”
Watch that clip below:
Arman Tsarukyan dismisses allegations of Khamzat Chimaev missing weight 👏⚖️
“Before the official weigh-ins, you go to one more weigh-in where the UFC checks your weight, and if you’re good there, they let you go. If there’s 186lbs on the automatic scale, you can’t go to the… pic.twitter.com/E1Njc6Lcxn
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) May 15, 2026
Chimaev, a Russian-Emirati middleweight who previously fought at welterweight, lost to Strickland by split decision at UFC 328. Tsarukyan, who competes at lightweight and has trained around Chimaev, said the version he saw in camp looked nothing like the fighter who slowed after round one.
“I mean, yeah, weight cut was hard, was rough weight cut. But the next day, in the morning, he felt good. So I asked him, but, you know, in the fight, we see after the first round, his hand a little bit, he got tired and he just strike, you know. And yeah, probably, most likely it’s a weight cut.”
Tsarukyan said he had not spoken with Chimaev about the fight yet, but pointed to what he saw in training.
“I haven’t talked to him yet about the fight and weight cut, how he felt during the fight. But most likely it’s a weight cut, because here in the training, see, he was like doing sparring five rounds nonstop, beat everybody, wrestled 25 minutes, and I felt like after the first round, I thought he could do like four more rounds the same.”
Tsarukyan still thought Chimaev had a case on the cards, although he acknowledged the usual championship standard when a fight is tight. The loss already sparked scoring debate, including Tsarukyan’s first reaction after UFC 328.
“It is what it is, but I still think it was close fight. But in the close fight, the champion got to be a champion, you know, and the contender got to take the belt. When you win like a good, you know, not just like a tight fight, and they give it to the contender.”
Asked if he felt Chimaev won, Tsarukyan said, “I think so, no. Yeah.”
🎙️ Arman Tsarukyan talks about Khamzat Chimaev's camp and preparation before the title fight.
"He was like doing sparring five rounds non-stop, beat everybody, wrestle 25 minutes and I thought like after first round, he could do like four more rounds the same"
🎙️@JAXXSONPODCAST… pic.twitter.com/Xh9sCP6kEQ
— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_) May 15, 2026
Tsarukyan Says Chimaev Wants Strickland Rematch
Tsarukyan also said Chimaev is not focused on moving up to light heavyweight after the Strickland loss. He said Chimaev wants the rematch instead.
“I think he wants to do very much rematch Strickland. His head is ready. He’s ready to go. He’s ready to go. So he’s motivated even more than before. Yeah, and a motivated Khamzat, it’s kind of a scarier Khamzat.”
Arman Tsarukyan confirms Khamzat Chimaev has dropped the idea of moving to light heavyweight and wants the Sean Strickland rematch instead 💪🔥
“Khamzat wants to do the rematch. His head is ready to go, and he’s more motivated than before.”
(Via @JaxxonPodcast ) pic.twitter.com/8SnKLhgodc
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) May 15, 2026
Chimaev entered UFC 328 with an unbeaten MMA record and left with his first pro loss. Strickland regained the middleweight title by split decision, while Chimaev’s side now has two separate arguments around the result: the weight cut took too much out of him, and the fight was close enough that some fighters still scored it for Chimaev.
