Former ACA champion Vitaliy Slipenko shared his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s loss to Sean Strickland, admitting he didn’t expect the fight to unfold that way.
“Honestly, I thought Khamzat would take it in his trademark style — he clearly wanted to finish Sean in the first round, just like he used to. When he got his back, I was sure it was over. But Strickland surprised me — his takedown defense is top-notch, and he really didn’t crack under that pressure. You could see the weight cut took a toll on Khamzat; by the middle of the fight, he started slowing down, and that played a key role. At the same time, credit goes to Strickland — he did his job perfectly and managed to neutralize Chimaev’s strengths. It’s worth noting that in this fight, Khamzat proved he’s willing to scrap not just on the ground but on the feet until the very end. It was a worthy fight,” Slipenko told Championat correspondent Alexander Frolov.
