UFC commentator Jon Anik believes Khamzat Chimaev should return to the blueprint that earned him the middleweight title if he gets a rematch against Sean Strickland.
Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) recently lost the UFC middleweight championship to Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) via split decision in the main event of UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey. While “Borz” enjoyed early success with his wrestling and grappling in the opening round, he appeared to slow down as the fight progressed, allowing Strickland to dictate much of the action on the feet over the final rounds.
The performance stood in stark contrast to Chimaev’s dominant title-winning effort against Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in 2025. In that bout, Chimaev relied heavily on a disciplined grappling strategy, controlling Du Plessis for much of the five-round contest en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Speaking with Submission Radio on Monday, Anik suggested that Chimaev should adopt a similar mindset and game plan if he faces Strickland again.
“Khabib's mentality that ‘anything can and will go wrong in a fight, and this is how you need to proceed to win, and if a finish materializes, great,’” Anik said. “You need to ‘Dricus Du Plessis’ this guy. And even if that is easier said than done, and that's not as easy a task as maybe (against) the former champ DDP, that needs to be your approach.”
Anik argued that Chimaev’s path to victory lies in committing to his wrestling-heavy style rather than engaging in extended striking exchanges with Strickland.
The veteran broadcaster also questioned whether Chimaev may have expended too much energy before stepping into the Octagon.
“There was so much expended energy seemingly from Khamzat leading up to the fight, emotional energy, walking out before the fight, just going nuts,” Anik said. “That's why I say he's an electrifying force, unlike anything we've seen in the game.”
Anik pointed to reigning flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko as an example of a fighter who carefully manages energy throughout fight week.
“But Valentina Shevchenko is measured with every ounce of her energy during fight week, during fighter meetings, all of it,” Anik continued. “And I think, if I were Team Chimaev, I would be looking at the media (obligations), I'd be looking at every little thing we do so we have maximum energy come fight night so we can wrestle and grapple and put our brand of dominance and violence on Strickland.”
Whether Chimaev receives an immediate rematch remains to be seen, but Anik believes the former champion’s best chance of reclaiming the title is to lean into the grappling-heavy approach that proved so effective against Du Plessis rather than allowing another fight with Strickland to become a prolonged striking battle.
