Colby Covington Unpacks Khamzat Chimaev's Path to Victory Over Sean Strickland at UFC 328: "He Won't Be Foolish"

Colby Covington foresees Khamzat Chimaev decisively overcoming Sean Strickland in their upcoming championship clash. Chimaev is scheduled to make his inaugural middleweight title defense against former champion Strickland in the main event of UFC 328, set for May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

"Borz" clinched the 185-pound title through a dominant grappling display against Dricus du Plessis, securing a unanimous decision win at UFC 319 in August 2025. The 31-year-old Chechen fighter maintains an impeccable 15-0 professional record, including a flawless 9-0 run within the UFC. He is widely favored to extend his undefeated streak against Strickland, driven by his aggressive fighting style.

In contrast, the 35-year-old American recently returned to action after a year-long hiatus, which followed a significant unanimous decision loss to Dricus du Plessis in their title encounter at UFC 312 in February 2025. Strickland made a powerful comeback last month at UFC Houston, delivering a knockout victory over the rising contender Anthony Hernandez. Now boasting a 17-7 Octagon record, Strickland aims to recapture the belt he originally claimed with a decision win over former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023.

Colby Covington Expects a Strategic Grappling Focus from Khamzat Chimaev Against Sean Strickland

During a recent interview, Colby Covington offered his perspective on the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland title bout. "Chaos" characterized the matchup as a stylistic mismatch, suggesting that "Borz" will likely leverage his superior grappling skills to neutralize Strickland's striking prowess.

“No, I’m not giving him [Strickland] a chance,” Covington asserted. “The grappling abilities and strategic approaches of [Anthony] Hernandez and Khamzat are on entirely different planes. Therefore, I believe Khamzat will take him down and submit him.”

The former UFC welterweight champion also brought up a much-discussed 2022 sparring session between Chimaev and Strickland, which had led to differing accounts from both sides. Covington affirmed that the current champion decisively outmatched Strickland during that session and expects a similar performance on May 9.

“Schmo witnessed their sparring session at Extreme Couture a couple of years back, and he pretty much stated it wasn’t competitive. Chimaev was simply taking him down and submitting him. So, I anticipate the exact same game plan.”

Covington concluded by stating that "Borz" would adopt a well-thought-out strategy and is poised to control the fight comprehensively.

“He’s not going to be foolish and engage Sean in a stand-up, kickboxing-style fight. He’s going to turn it into a pure grappling contest, and I think he’s going to put Strickland in some truly difficult positions, ultimately submitting him or simply holding him for the full 25 minutes.”