Sean Strickland won a split decision over Khamzat Chimaev after five rounds at the Prudential Center in Newark. The middleweight main-card bout went the full 25 minutes, with no knockdowns and big swings in momentum. On Sofascore, the fight page logged 1500 seconds of action and a clean SD on the result line.

Judges sided with Strickland after five busy rounds

Across the full contest, Strickland landed more total strikes (308 to 251) and more significant strikes (129 to 96). That edge, especially at range, likely carried the cards his way. Chimaev had moments of control, but Strickland finished stronger in rounds three and five to seal it.

Striking volume at distance favored Strickland

The bout played 65.2% of the time at distance, and Strickland made those minutes count. He led significant strikes at range 114 to 85 and piled up head shots 110 to 48 overall. In total, Strickland also edged the clinch striking 59 to 54 and the ground striking 53 to 40.

Chimaev’s wrestling success told a different story

Chimaev owned the takedown battle with 5 of 14 completed, while Strickland went 0 of 1. He also logged more ground-clinch control time (304 seconds to 213) and produced 2 submission attempts. Chimaev added 4 successful transitions to Strickland’s 0, but couldn’t convert control into a finish.

Round-by-round momentum swing

Round 1 was all Chimaev on the mat: 2 takedowns, 237 seconds of control in the ground clinch and a 27 to 5 total-strike lead. Strickland flipped Round 2, out-landing 75 to 17 in total strikes with 23 significant, including 19 to the head. Rounds 3 and 5 stayed almost entirely at distance, where Strickland led significant strikes 38 to 29 in the third and 41 to 25 in the fifth. Chimaev had a strong Round 4 with 2 takedowns and a 29 to 24 significant-strike edge, but Strickland’s late surge sealed the SD.

What the numbers say

– Total fight time: 25:00, with 967 seconds at distance and 522 on the ground.
– Strickland: 308 total strikes, 129 significant, 110 head, 19 body, 0 legs.
– Chimaev: 251 total strikes, 96 significant, 48 head, 35 body, 13 legs.
– Takedowns: Chimaev 5 of 14; Strickland 0 of 1.
– Submissions: Chimaev 2 attempts; Strickland 0.
Fans can browse the round splits and advanced metrics on Sofascore for the full picture.