On his podcast, former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo explained how Sean Strickland turned the tables on Khamzat Chimaev in round 2 of their UFC 328 fight.
Strickland was on the ground in the first round as 'Borz' controlled him for 4:47 of the 5-minute round. The current UFC middleweight champion was unable to attempt any strikes on Chimaev, let alone land them.
Even so, Sean Strickland managed to rebound convincingly in the second round. The American challenger completely flipped the script, not only stopping Chimaev's takedowns but also controlling the Chechen on the ground for 3 minutes of the round. Strickland even managed to land 29 strikes in this round, with 15 being deemed significant.
Many, including the commentary team at Newark that night, blamed Khamzat Chimaev gassing out after the first round for this reversal in momentum. However, Henry Cejudo believes one of the strikes that Sean Strickland landed was what shifted the fight in his favor. Triple C believes 'Tarzan' managed to rock Chimaev with a right hand before controlling him for the rest of the second round.
That second round, I think a minute and a half into the [round]. It was probably like maybe 3:45. Sean Strickland catches Khamzat Chimaev with that beautiful right hand… He hurt him, dude. Khamzat Chimaev was on that stanky leg, bro, but he did a good job being composed and not showing it. But where he made the mistake Kamaru is when he went for a takedown once he got hurt.
Cejudo then criticized the commentary team for not catching Chimaev getting hurt, saying they need to do a better job of relaying the fight's events to the audience. Sean Strickland does land a clean right hand in the exchange before Khamzat Chimaev attempts a takedown.
'Borz' being dazed and confused during the takedown attempt may explain its failure and his subsequent collapse and guard pull. However, it is also possible that he gassed out as the commentary team alleged. Only Khamzat Chimaev really knows what happened in the second round of his fight at UFC 328.
Even so, before the fight even happened, Triple C seemed to be leaning towards an upset victory for Sean Strickland. In fact, both he and Chimaev's former opponent, Kamaru Usman, were believers in Sean Strickland ahead of UFC 328.
Sean Strickland handing Khamzat Chimaev his first-ever loss in MMA was met with shock from many in the MMA community. This was reflected by Strickland heading into the fight as a +425 underdog. However, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo placed their faith in Sean Strickland.
Triple C even went as far as to place a $1000 bet on the American middleweight scoring an upset victory. He explained his reasoning on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.
I personally feel like the jab, the teep kick, and the fact that his style is just a little bit different could be problematic for a guy like Khamzat Chimaev. Styles make fights…Sean Strickland has shown that if you do take him down, he gets back up to his feet. I feel like we are gonna hear 'And new!'
Henry Cejudo via the Pound 4 Pound podcastCejudo was ultimately proven right last Saturday as Strickland jabbed his way to a split decision victory. Though the teep kick did not end up being a factor, Strickland's jab shut down a lot of Chimaev's game, negating his forward pressure. More importantly, it inflicted a lot of damage on Chimaev, destroying his face, leaving him with a lot of bruises and two black eyes.
His co-host, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, also backed Strickland. However, the 'Nigerian Nightmare' clarified that though he believed the odds made Strickland a good bet, he still thought Chimaev was going to win. That said, as an active fighter, Usman is not allowed to place bets on MMA fights. Hence, Usman may not have won any money like his co-host did.
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