MMA · BREAKING
Chimaev Strickland Rematch Moves Closer as Borz Books Moscow
The Chimaev Strickland rematch has gone from flat refusal to real possibility. Sean Strickland, who took back the middleweight title by split decision in May, has softened his stance while his shoulder heals. In the meantime, Khamzat Chimaev has booked a wrestling match in Moscow on September 5. Here is where the fight actually stands, and what still has to happen.
- Fight Hub
- 8 August 2026
Ce qu'il faut retenir
- Sean Strickland has moved from refusing an immediate rematch to publicly offering Chimaev a “second L”, while his shoulder finishes healing.
- Chimaev stays busy in the meantime: he headlines Real American Freestyle’s first Moscow card on September 5 against Tyron Woodley. It is a wrestling match, not an MMA fight.
- Nothing is signed. Strickland says he needs “a little longer”, and the matchup has not been approved by the UFC.
Chimaev Strickland rematch: how the champion changed his tune
The split decision that started everything
At UFC 328 in Newark, in May, Strickland walked into the Prudential Center as better than a 4-to-1 underdog and walked out with the middleweight belt. The scorecards read 48-47, 47-48, 48-47, and the fight became one of the most argued decisions of the year. It was also the first professional defeat of Chimaev’s career, in a title fight he had been favoured to win comfortably.
Chimaev contested the result immediately and asked for an instant rematch. Strickland said no. Chimaev then announced he would move up to light heavyweight instead. That plan did not survive long: he reversed course, made the rematch his single objective, and has called Strickland out week after week since.
From a flat no to a “second L”
The persistence appears to have worked. Strickland has stopped dismissing the idea and started answering it directly, addressing his recovery and then offering, in his own style, to hand Chimaev another loss. For a champion who closed the door in May, that is a real shift in tone, even if it is not yet a signature on a contract.
There is context behind Strickland’s caution, and it is worth knowing. He fought Chimaev with a Grade 1 AC joint separation, picked up while sparring Johnny Eblen four days before the fight, and won anyway. That shoulder, not a lack of interest, is the reason the rematch still has no date.
Moscow first: the September 5 detour
A wrestling match, not an MMA fight
Real American Freestyle announced on July 30 that Chimaev will headline its first event in Russia, on September 5 in Moscow, broadcast on FOX Nation. One detail matters more than the poster: RAF is a freestyle wrestling promotion. This is a wrestling match, so it will not appear on Chimaev’s MMA record and it carries nothing like the damage risk of five championship rounds. Elite wrestling is not risk-free either, which is exactly why the booking tells us something about his timeline.
It is not his first outing under the banner. In June, in St. Louis, he pinned Dillon Danis. The format suits him: Chimaev is a three-time Swedish national freestyle wrestling champion, and grappling has always been the engine of what makes him a problem inside the cage.
Woodley, at 44, on the other side
Tyron Woodley brings a real wrestling pedigree rather than just a name: two-time NCAA Division-1 All-American and Big 12 champion at Missouri, on top of his former UFC welterweight title. He is also 44 years old, twelve years older than Chimaev, and has not competed in MMA for years. As a wrestling attraction the pairing makes sense; as a competitive test, the age and activity gap is hard to ignore.
Chimaev keeps running his f—king mouth. Want me to teach you how to cut weight so you can stop bitching for a second L?
What still has to happen for the rematch to be made
The shoulder sets the calendar
Three things stand between the trash talk and a contract. Strickland’s shoulder has to be fully healed, and he says he needs “a little longer”. The UFC has to approve the matchup, which has not happened. And a slot has to open: with only a handful of numbered events left in 2026, December in Las Vegas is the date most often floated in the American press, though nothing has been announced.
The Moscow booking is the useful clue here. Fighters who expect a title fight within weeks do not accept competitive wrestling matches in the meantime. September 5 suggests Chimaev’s camp is planning for a rematch late in the year, not an imminent one, and that they would rather keep him active than wait in silence.
Track both men before the announcement
The rematch will be sold on one question: was the first fight a fluke of scoring, or a genuine puzzle Strickland solved? The answer is in the numbers, and those numbers are worth having in front of you. Full records, career statistics and divisional rankings for Chimaev, Strickland and the rest of the middleweight top ten are in the FightHub app. Download it, look at the first fight again, and make your own call before the booking becomes official.
