Ahead of UFC 328, Khamzat Chimaev opened as a -425 favorite to beat challenger Sean Strickland. But despite the odds favoring ‘Borz’ to retain his belt, an ex-UFC star has advised the current middleweight champ to refine his game plan, or he might risk seeing the shiny gold belt slip away against ‘Tarzan’.
Before Chimaev’s first title defense against Strickland in Newark, New Jersey, former UFC BMF champion Jorge Masvidal thinks the reigning middleweight champ should use wrestling to search for a finish, not just to hold down his opponent on the mat.
“Yeah man, always. Let’s be that striker, you know. None of that c— sniffing,” Masvidal said during a Death Row podcast episode with Joe Pyfer. “Just sitting there and sniffing c—s. You have a chance to strike, but you’re just holding the guy down because you’re scared they’re going to get away. You’ve been wrestling your whole life. It’s never c— sniffing if you advance your position, get a submission, or strike, you know.
You just get a halfway position when guys are just holding on for dear life. You’re not advancing, you are not causing damage. And all you’re doing is literally holding. Yeah, you’re a better wrestler, but that’s not fighting. This is fighting, and Chimaev is one of them,” he added.
While Masvidal hasn’t clarified why he thinks Chimaev would hold down Strickland instead of submitting him, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say his comments were aimed at ‘Borz’s last fight against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319. In the championship bout at Chicago last year, the Chechen-Emirati showed an unparalleled dominance, controlling the South African champ for 21:40 in a 25-minute bout. But that’s not all, he also broke Max Holloway’s total strikes in a single fight (442) record at UFC 319, landing 529 total strikes.
However, the UFC counted only 37 of them as significant, showing that the volume didn’t translate into effective offense. For that reason, many criticized Chimaev for not getting a finish and for holding Du Plessis in a crucifix for most of the fight. However, Masvidal isn’t the only one to complain about ‘Borz’s performance. Even Paulo Costa criticized it, calling Chimaev’s approach “horrible.”
That said, Masvidal’s criticism didn’t only rely on Khamzat Chimaev’s fighting style. He also believes that Sean Strickland’s ability to get up from the ground will force ‘Borz’ to look for the finish.
“What I do know about being Strickland personally is that I have been in the room with Strickland a couple times,” Masvidal said. “When he’s going with good wrestlers himself, he has a very good understanding of using overhooks, getting back to his feet. He has very good hips. He’s not very easy to take down, but he’s even harder to hold down. I think that’s going to be the first guy that actually challenges Chimaev in that realm,” he added.
Jorge Masvidal claims Khamzat Chimaev holds fighters down out of fear they’ll escape
“Just sit there and sniff crotches. You have a chance to strike, but you’re just holding the guy down because you’re scared they’re going to get away. Yeah, you’re a better wrestler, but… pic.twitter.com/a3pxLt4RyF
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 7, 2026
Now, as Masvidal expects to see Chimaev use more of his wrestling against Strickland at UFC 328, his bitter rival believes that ‘Borz’ will do the opposite.
Colby Covington is convinced that Khamzat Chimaev won’t abandon his game plan at UFC 328
However, UFC welterweight star Colby Covington, who also trained at the same gym, claimed to have seen Chimaev completely dominating Strickland during their training sessions. With that in mind, ‘Chaos’ believes the Chechen-Emirati wouldn’t actually abandon his wrestling-based game plan to beat Strickland at UFC 328.
“I’m not giving him a chance,” Covington told Submission Radio. “Hernandez and Khamzat are completely different levels of grapplers and the way they approach their strategies. So, I think Khamzat’s going to take him down and submit him. ‘Schmo’ went and watched them spar back at Xtreme Couture a couple of years ago, and he pretty much said it wasn’t competitive.
Khamzat was just taking him down and submitting him, so I expect that same damn plan. He’s not going to be stupid and strike with Sean and make it a kickboxing fight. He’s just going to make it straight grappling, and I think he’s going to put Strickland in some really bad positions and either submit him or just hold him down for 25 minutes,” he added.
The opposing views from Masvidal and Covington highlight the central question of the fight: will Chimaev adapt his strategy to hunt for a finish, or will he rely on the same dominant, if controversial, grappling that won him the title?
