Khamzat Chimaev officially weighed in at 185 pounds early Friday (May 8, 2026) for his weekend clash with Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey, but some are crying foul play.
UFC’s return to New Jersey this Saturday night on Paramount+ from inside Prudential Center is a big one. Leading the way will be a long-awaited grudge match between Chimaev and Strickland, who are former training partners turned bitter rivals. A co-main event title fight between UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van and top contender Tatsuro Taira adds even more anticipation for this weekend’s event, as well as a deep undercard.
All of that said, it was important that both Chimaev and Strickland made weight on Friday to make their marquee matchup official. Strickland passed with flying colors, but Khamzat was the last fighter from the card to step on the scale. Reports suggested the UFC middleweight champion had to cut a whopping 46 pounds for his first official title defense so fight fans were nervous to see how things played out.
Despite looking to be on death’s door, Chimaev hit 185 pounds and successfully hit weight for UFC 328’s grudge match. That was according to the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, who watching watch the scale as Chimaev weighed in. Most wouldn’t have known there was anything fishy going on, but one UFC fighter did.
UFC veteran Bryce Mitchell took to social media to chime in on Chimaev’s early morning weigh in. “Thug Nasty” is confident that Chimaev never actually made weight and that those in power want Strickland to lose so badly that they covered up Khamzat’s weight miss. Check it out below and let us know if you agree with Mitchell!
“That dude didn’t make that weight,” said Mitchell. “There’s no convincing me bro… it’s all bullsh-t.”
“Khamzat gets special treatment… he didn’t make that weight and I think Sean’s champ already,” Mitchell continued. “They don’t want him to win because they can’t control what he says and he loves America.”
For more UFC 328 fight card news and coverage click HERE.
