For the first time in his professional career, Khamzat Chimaev looked human. At UFC 328, the undefeated force who had tormented divisions with relentless pressure and suffocating wrestling faded badly down the stretch against Sean Strickland. After dominating early on, his speed slowed as the rounds progressed, eventually leading to a split decision loss in Newark.
And almost immediately after the fight, the focus moved from the scorecards to the folks preparing him behind the scenes. One of the most outspoken critics was former UFC fighter Saidyokub Kakhramonov, who specifically attacked Khamzat Chimaev’s strength and conditioning coach, Sam Calavitta.
“Worst S&C coach in MMA history,” he wrote on X. “Guy has a history of high-volume and high-intensity methods. Wearing his fighters down before they ever get to the fight.
“Injuries all over the place. Pico, TJ, now Khamzat.”
The statements revived old criticism of Calavitta’s demanding technique at Treigning Lab in California, particularly after reports surfaced claiming ‘Borz’ cut over 45 pounds during fight week.
What makes the situation more interesting is that former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw had actually praised Sam Calavitta’s methods in the past and personally introduced Khamzat Chimaev to him. The 40-year-old previously claimed the system would improve the former champion’s gas tank and weight cuts long term.
“I met him, and I introduced to him this guy, Sam Calavitta,” he said on the Overdogs podcast. “So Chimaev is doing it right now, and I highly suspect he’s going to have an amazingly better gas tank for his next fight, and I think he’s going to get the win because of it.
“He’s going to make the weight better, which in turn is going to make his cardio better, and he’s going to train the right way.”
However, TJ Dillashaw’s own career became extensively associated with injuries later on, even though he denied they were connected to Calavitta’s work, unlike what Saidyokub Kakhramonov claimed.
“Back in 2017, I dislocated my shoulder again doing the coaches’ challenge against [Cody Garbrandt],” he added. “We had to play tetherball on a balance beam, like a gymnastic balance beam, and we’re above a pool.
“I went to go fall off and catch myself, and I dislocated my shoulder out the back, and ever since then, it’s been giving me issues.”
Now, after ‘Borz’ seemed to slow down against Sean Strickland in his toughest fight yet, those old conversations resurfaced in full force. Whether the issue was the brutal weight cut, overtraining, or simply ‘Tarzan’ dragging him into unfamiliar waters, the debate over Khamzat Chimaev’s preparation suddenly feels louder than ever. In fact, even Demetrious Johnson has jumped into it with his blunt take.
Demetrious Johnson doubles down on the “overtraining” claim
Demetrious Johnson doesn’t seem convinced that Khamzat Chimaev merely “gassed out.” After seeing the UFC 328 main event, the former flyweight champion hinted at something far deeper: Chimaev’s own training could have worked against him by the time he entered the cage against Sean Strickland.
‘Mighty Mouse’ specifically highlighted how much energy Chimaev burned early in the fight.
“Dean Thomas mentioned the adrenaline dump on the broadcast, and I personally think he trains too hard,” he said on his YouTube channel. “There comes a point where your cardio threshold only goes so high. After that, you start getting diminishing returns.
“You can do all the hard workouts and have great conditioning, but can you still perform when things stop going your way? If I spend all day sparring and drilling and then go kill my body in the garage after that, I am just breaking my body down.”
What stood out most was Demetrious Johnson’s belief that modern MMA has moved beyond the old-school mindset of endlessly grinding the body during camp.
“By the time you get to the fight, your body has already been through hell for eight or ten weeks,” he continued. “Back in the day, that used to be normal, but in 2026, there is too much science now.
“Less is more, and more is less. Sometimes working too hard does not pay off.”
With reports of ‘Borz’ going through a significant weight cut and even missing weight, Johnson felt the damage may have already been done before fight night arrived. Meanwhile, Sean Strickland stayed collected, controlled the tempo with his jab, and slowly turned the fight into something Khamzat Chimaev had never experienced before: a long, hard war in which his opponent refused to break.
