Colby Covington: Khamzat Chimaev exposed as ‘quitter’ in UFC 328 loss to Sean Strickland

Colby Covington has weighed in on Khamzat Chimaev's first professional loss, attributing the middleweight's May upset defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 not to physical issues but to mental weakness and poor character.

Chimaev entered the UFC 328 main event as the defending middleweight champion with an undefeated record, but Strickland—a significant underdog—outstriked him over three rounds to claim a split-decision victory and his second UFC title. The loss sparked widespread debate about Chimaev's conditioning, with many observers citing a grueling weight cut as a key factor in his poor performance.

Covington, speaking to Submission Radio, dismissed the weight-cut narrative. "He already went up a weight class," Covington said. "It's not the weight cut, it's a discipline cut. It's a mental type of cut. You're cut from a different cloth. You could see he kind of has that quitter in him." Covington highlighted Chimaev pulling guard in the second round as evidence of mental fragility, describing the moment as uncharacteristic of a fighter with true resilience.

With both men now operating under the Real American Freestyle (RAF) banner—a wrestling-focused promotion—Covington has set his sights on a potential matchup with Chimaev. Covington is scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 11 on July 18, while Chimaev headlines RAF 10 in St. Louis on Saturday against Dillon Danis. Covington, who plans to attend the event, expressed confidence he could expose Chimaev in a wrestling match. "Three two-minute rounds," Covington said. "Round 2 and 3 is when I come on strongest."

Covington signaled he may confront Chimaev at the RAF 10 event, promising to deliver his message directly to the fighter he believes lacks mental fortitude when facing elite competition.