Khamzat Chimaev suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland on Saturday. And Khabib Nurmagomedov appears to have seen this coming roughly a year ago. Since the loss, a year-old podcast appearance from ‘The Eagle’ has resurfaced, revealing that Nurmagomedov had already identified the exact weakness in Chimaev’s game that could be exploited. 

“I always had the same game plan,” Nurmagomedov said in a podcast with Adam Zubayraev nine months ago. “I was taking the fight to the ground. And I would attempt 100 takedowns if required. But you don’t see that in Khamzat’s fights. He usually starts going full wrestling, and when it doesn’t work out, he starts striking with those guys while he is gassed.”

This is exactly what happened on Saturday night. Chimaev tried to work on the ground in the first round of the fight and found success. However, the momentum shifted in the second round when ‘Tarzan’ started stuffing takedown attempts and even reversed one to end up on top in Chimaev’s guard. ‘Borz’ was looking fatigued in the round. 

In the third round, the fight shifted to the feet, and Strickland started finding success. Although Chimaev returned to wrestling in the fourth and dominated, the fifth didn’t go his way, and he started exchanging blows. Sean Strickland’s volume appeared to edge out Chimaev, helping him win the bout via split decision.

Khabib Nurmagomedov had even pointed out Chimaev’s fights against Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, where the Chechen native had made similar mistakes. Although Chimaev had managed to win those fights, his luck appears to have run out against Strickland. In any case, this begs the question: what will Khamzat Chimaev do next? 

Conflicting updates about the next move from Khamzat Chimaev

After the loss, Khamzat Chimaev appeared set on leaving the middleweight division behind. UFC CEO Dana White revealed what Chimaev immediately told him after the fight. 

“I want to move up,” White said Chimaev told him. “I don’t want to fight in this weight class anymore.”

This came after a brutal weight cut that visibly impacted Chimaev before his split-decision loss to Sean Strickland. 

“I think he had a rough weight cut,” White added. 

However, conflicting updates soon emerged regarding Chimaev’s future. Just hours after insisting he planned to move to light heavyweight, he hinted at a rematch with Strickland on social media. 

Khamzat Chimaev first posted, “@SStricklandMMA see you soon again,” before following it up with: “Let me know when you are ready.”

Now, uncertainty surrounds whether Chimaev’s next fight will come at 185 or 205 pounds. Although long before Saturday’s fight, Chimaev had expressed his desire to move up in weight. 

Khamzat Chimaev appears to have found himself at a crossroads. Either he can vie for a rematch or move up to light heavyweight. Only time will tell what he ends up choosing. But what did you think of Khabib’s foresight?