Khamzat Chimaev's Deadliest Version Never Showed Up Against Sean Strickland
Brendan Allen believes that if the right version of Khamzat Chimaev had shown up against Sean Strickland, the fight would have ended much earlier.
Sean Strickland handed Khamzat Chimaev the first scar on an otherwise spotless resume at UFC 328. An intense back-and-forth that went the distance, only for a shaky split decision, recrowned 'Tarzan' as the middleweight king. Brendan Allen, however, believes Chimaev came up short on his actual potential.
Brendan Allen Details Prime Chimaev's Potential
Perhaps the fight wouldn't even have lasted 25 minutes if a different version of 'Borz' had entered the Octagon that night. The No. 4 middleweight, Brendan Allen, doesn't have a trace of doubt about that, believing the Russian was a completely different beast in the UFC 328 training camp.
The American sees the clash ending in just 90 seconds, but this time between the Chimaev he trained with and the one who looked lost against Strickland.
“I don’t think Strickland won the fight. The only thing I can speak on is the Khamzat I trained with. The Khamzat who fought that night was not the same Khamzat I trained with. The Khamzat I trained with would have finished that Khamzat in a minute and 30 seconds," Allen told UFC on Paramount.
"The Khamzat I trained with would have finished that Khamzat in a minute and 30 max" 👀😲 Brendan Allen claims the Khamzat Chimaev he trained with would have destroyed the version that showed up against Sean Strickland in just 90 seconds. “I don’t think Strickland won the fight. The only thing I can speak on is the Khamzat I trained with. The Khamzat who fought that night was not the same Khamzat I trained with. The Khamzat I trained with would have finished that Khamzat in a minute and 30 seconds.”
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 8, 2026
Looking at the razor-close scorecards (48-47, 47-48, 48-47), Allen's words don't seem like much of a stretch. In fact, the combat world isn't quite unaware of the damage Borz is capable of inflicting. A first-round submission win against former champion Robert Whittaker is only the tip of the iceberg.
Borz also battled five brutal rounds with Dricus Du Plessis to edge a unanimous decision win before taking on Tarzan. Unfortunately, he just couldn't do enough to make his case undeniable for the judges. Now, the Russian is already looking to run it back and has even offered an extremely lucrative deal.
Khamzat Chimaev Offers $1 Million for Rematch
The Russian-Emirati fighter is not one to accept defeat. Amid the recent back-and-forth surrounding Sean Strickland's first title defense since UFC 328, Borz has put himself right at the cusp of the talks. And it seems like he's ready to put even seven figures on the line just to make that a reality.
After it felt almost certain that the middleweight king would defend his throne against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 335 on Dec. 12, pay issues settled in. Strickland demanded a million, while Imavov offered $500K of his own to cement the booking. While the trajectory has since stalled and UFC went in a different direction, scheduling a BMF title fight instead, Chimaev is ready to offer what Strickland wants.
"Strickland, I will pay you one (lemon). Send me location and let's fight; I don't care if it's inside or outside of the cage," he wrote on X.
Clearly, Borz is more than ready to settle the score and claim grabs at what slipped right out of his hands despite being so close. Sean Strickland, however, has yet to publicly respond.
