What began as a night of high-stakes mixed martial arts at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, has reportedly ended with some dire consequences.
Two men from Uzbekistan are alleged to have taken their own lives following Khamzat Chimaev’s split-decision loss to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328. The two had reportedly placed enormous wagers on Chimaev to retain his UFC middleweight title.
According to posts that spread rapidly across social media on Sunday night, the two men had gone to extraordinary financial lengths to back Chimaev. Reports suggest they took out large loans, sold their personal vehicles, and even parted with their wives’ jewelry in order to place everything they had on the undefeated Chechen-born star.
When the final scorecards were read and Strickland’s hand was raised, the two men allegedly faced financial ruin with no clear way forward.
The match itself was one of the more competitive bouts of the year. Chimaev, who had entered the night carrying a flawless 9-0 UFC record and riding considerable momentum as the newly crowned 185-pound (83.9 kg) champion, controlled the opening round almost entirely through his trademark grappling.
Chimaev secured an early takedown and kept Strickland on the canvas for the bulk of the first five minutes. He appeared on track to add another dominant performance to an already impressive resume that included wins over Robert Whittaker, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman.
But Strickland, the former champion, did not allow that. As the rounds progressed, the challenger found his rhythm behind a sharp, consistent jab that began to land with increasing regularity.
Chimaev found himself on the back foot. His willingness to shoot for takedowns diminished noticeably, and Strickland’s relentless forward pressure began to tip the scales.
The contest was close enough that it could have gone either way on the scorecards. Two of the three judges ultimately awarded Strickland 48-47, while the third saw it 48-47 for Chimaev, resulting in a narrow split-decision victory for Strickland.
With that, Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight title he had lost earlier in his career.
