Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland: Georges St-Pierre breaks down huge upset
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has given his thoughts on the UFC 328 main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.
Last weekend, Sean Strickland shocked the masses with a huge upset win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328. It was gritty, back and forth affair but in the end, Sean did just about enough to get over the finish line and win the UFC middleweight championship for the second time.
As we look ahead to the future, many are already wondering whether or not we will see Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev run it back. There’s certainly a chance, but with Nassourdine Imavov waiting in the wings, it isn’t likely to be next.
In a recent interview, Georges St-Pierre weighed in on how things played out between Chimaev and the new champ Sean Strickland.
Georges St-Pierre on Khamzat Chimaev’s loss to Sean Strickland
“I was surprised myself,” St-Pierre told MMA Junkie. “The odds highly favored for Khamzat. I think Sean should change his nickname for ‘The Boogeyman.’ He’s been doing this a few times now. He beats guys that nobody thinks he’s going to beat. It’s pretty unbelievable what he’s been doing. He did it with a shoulder injury, and it’s pretty amazing what he did. It looked like Khamzat got tired very fast. Maybe he cut too much weight. Sometimes there’s things out of our control that influence the result of the fight. It was an incredible performance from Sean.
“He made Khamzat work very hard to keep him down, to ride him, and Khamzat looked like he got very tired. When he shot in the second round, he went on his back. I don’t know what happened. It was the turning point of the fight. Then he had a second wind and got back in control. It was a very close fight. It could have gone either way. I thought the decision was right, and Strickland won the last round. Even though it was close, he deserved it. He did what he needed to win, and I can’t wait to see what happens with Khamzat. Is he going to go up a weight class or try to go back at 185?”
“Nobody’s invincible,” St-Pierre said. “It’s not the best fighter who wins the fight, it’s the fighter who fights the best, the night of the fight. If you don’t believe me, look at any other sport. … I believe that Khamzat is a better fighter than Sean Strickland. But that night, Sean beat him. Sean can do it again next time. That’s the thing. Being a champion, the No. 1 quality of a champion is to be good when it counts, when it matters. And it’s very hard.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
