Khamzat Chimaev is not taking his most recent result quietly. According to BJPenn.com, the Chechen-born standout went after the judges who scored his fight and, in the same breath, argued he should still be first in line for a UFC title shot.

That stance looks bold given what our own numbers show. Chimaev's last outing came on May 9, 2026, and it did not go his way, a split decision loss to Sean Strickland. Split decisions are exactly the kind of finish that invites this sort of complaint, since a single scorecard swing separates a win from a defeat, and Chimaev clearly believes the judges got his wrong.

Here's the twist. Despite that loss, our tracker still lists Chimaev as the number one ranked middleweight in the world, and his Elo rating sits at 1568 across five tracked bouts. That combination, a top ranking paired with a fresh defeat, is unusual and it is exactly why his title talk is going to draw so much attention either way.

If the UFC actually entertains the idea, it would mean handing a shot at the belt to a fighter coming off a loss, something promotions are generally reluctant to do no matter how gifted the challenger is. Chimaev's argument seems to be that the scorecards, not his performance, are the real obstacle standing between him and a run at the title.

Whether the promotion sees it that way is another matter entirely. Rankings and Elo numbers can keep Chimaev in the championship conversation, but matchmakers tend to want a signature win, not a contested scorecard, before they hand out a title fight. For now, his case rests on frustration with the judges rather than a result that settles the argument on its own.