Brendan Schaub thinks Sean Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 because Chimaev’s wrestling did not produce enough damage, finish attempts, or urgency once Strickland survived the early grappling.
During his video breakdown, Schaub focused on Chimaev’s hype, weight cut, cardio questions, takedowns, scoring, and the missing killer instinct that made Chimaev look terrifying earlier in his UFC rise, the same concerns that surfaced after Dustin Poirier questioned Chimaev’s UFC 328 scale moment. Chimaev is still a former UFC middleweight champion and one of the top names in the division, but Schaub said Strickland’s experience and ability to neutralize the early danger changed the fight.
“With the Strickland fight and Hamzat, as soon as that fight was announced, I go, ‘Ooh, we got one,’” Schaub said. “And I go, ‘Strickland has a chance.’”
Schaub said Chimaev still earned the reputation that followed him into UFC 328, but he pushed back on the idea that the former champion was some unbeatable force once the fight hit deeper waters.
“Stylistically, Strickland poses a lot of issues for Hamza,” Schaub said. “If you’ve been following Hamzat long enough, he deserves the hype. He deserves the hype.”
“There are signs that he’s not this indestructible once-in-a-generation talent as far as it goes in the Octagon,” Schaub said. “There’s been some question marks that you still need answered before you go, ‘He’s that dude.’”
Watch the full breakdown below:
Schaub Says Chimaev Needed Damage And Finish Attempts After Takedowns
Schaub said one pre-fight concern was Chimaev’s body and weight cut. According to Schaub, Chimaev had been adding size with a possible move to 205 pounds in mind before the Strickland fight kept him at middleweight, matching the bigger discussion after Dana White said Chimaev did not want to fight at that weight again.
“Before he signed the Strickland fight, his goal was to jump to 205,” Schaub said. “And that’s what the UFC wanted for him.”
Schaub said that shift mattered because Chimaev has already had public questions around endurance, and cutting back down after adding size created a tougher assignment against a five-round grinder like Strickland.
“That kind of changes things, especially when a guy who has struggled in the past with endurance and cardio issues, when you add muscle, that doesn’t make for a better cardio performance,” Schaub said.
“The texts I get, dude, weight cut. Nightmare. That’s all I got. Nightmare,” Schaub said. “That’s not good.”
Schaub expected Chimaev to get Strickland down early. The issue was what came after those takedowns, which is where Eric Nicksick’s jab-and-geography breakdown lined up with what Schaub saw. He said Chimaev can still put elite fighters on the mat, but control without damage leaves room for judges to reward the fighter who lands cleaner strikes and keeps getting back up.
“My whole breakdown of this fight was if Strickland can survive that first round, he’s going to get taken down,” Schaub said. “He’s going to take every single person he ever fights down in that first round. He’s going to get Strickland down. Can Strickland survive? He can. He can.”
“He’s an amazing grappler. Amazing, amazing grappler,” Schaub said. “But that tenacity hasn’t translated inside that Octagon for whatever reason.”
That was the big flaw Schaub kept circling. Chimaev got to the wrestling, but the next layer did not arrive often enough.
“He’s going to take anybody down. Anybody in the world,” Schaub said. “But what are you doing with that takedown? He doesn’t have ground and pound to inflict serious damage. He really isn’t going for submissions.”
Schaub said Strickland also landed the cleanest shot of the fight, which mattered in the rounds he believed were up for grabs.
“It’s by far the most significant punch bar none in the fight,” Schaub said. “Not the broken nose to Sean. No, I’m talking as far as flash clipped about to go out. That’s Sean Strickland.”
On Schaub’s card, the first round belonged to Chimaev, while rounds two and five clearly belonged to Strickland. He said rounds three and four were where the fight was won, even as Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo scored UFC 328 for Chimaev.
“First round’s Hamza. That’s easy,” Schaub said. “Second round Strickland. There’s no debate there.”
“One Hamza, you got it. Two, five is Strickland without a doubt,” Schaub said. “There’s no ends, ifs, buts about it. It’s two and five to Strickland.”
“When you put all that together, it’s a pretty clear indicator that Sean won this fight,” Schaub said. “Sean won this fight.”
Schaub also said Strickland’s previous training experience with Chimaev helped remove the mystery. Strickland had felt the grappling before, so he was not fighting the myth as much as the man.
“Sean has trained with him, so he knows how the magic is done,” Schaub said. “He’s not buying into this. This guy’s untouchable. This guy’s this beast.”
For Schaub, the fix is not simply more takedowns. It is what Chimaev does after he gets there, especially after Poirier said Chimaev’s intimidation factor took a hit.
“Just being a really good grappler wrestler is not enough in 2026 in the UFC,” Schaub said. “Guys are really, really good getting up. Even if they don’t have a wrestling background, they’re really good at getting back to their feet.”
“We’re not winning fights by just taking people down,” Schaub said. “My emphasis, if I’m Hamzat, is when we get them down, that’s when the significant strikes should start to roll in. We got to get better at ground and pound and make them pay once we do get them down.”
Then Schaub got blunt about Chimaev’s lack of elbows and finishing pressure from top position.
“No elbows. The f*ck you doing? What are you doing?” Schaub said. “You’re inflicting no damage down there. And then you’re also not going for finishes unless you get the back.”
“What are we doing where you’re so hesitant to go for a finish?” Schaub said. “Where you’re so hesitant to land vicious strikes in the ground and pound?”
Schaub also questioned whether Chimaev still carries the same savage finish-first edge he showed earlier in his run. He mentioned Chimaev’s wins over Li Jingliang, Kevin Holland, and Robert Whittaker, but said the pattern against elite opponents is not the same as running through everyone.
“Has he ever blown the doors off against the elite of the elite?” Schaub said.
“Besides Robert Whittaker, if you look at his elite, elite finishing capabilities, they’re not there right now,” Schaub said. “Not saying they can’t come there.”
“Did he lose that kind of savagery in him?” Schaub said.
