Demetrious Johnson thinks Khamzat Chimaev overtrained before his UFC 328 loss to Sean Strickland.
Johnson said the old idea that ‘more is better’ in MMA training is outdated.
What happened at UFC 328?
Khamzat Chimaev started strong, using his wrestling to control the early rounds.
But Sean Strickland took over with his jab, steady pressure, and better takedown defense.
Why it matters for Demetrious Johnson
Johnson explained that after a fighter reaches peak shape, pushing for more cardio can hurt performance.
He said too much sparring, drilling, and extra workouts can leave athletes worn out by fight night.
Demetrious Johnson compared old-school training habits to the more careful approach used by today’s athletes.
What comes next for Khamzat Chimaev?
Chimaev's loss was a close one, with two judges scoring it 48-47 for Strickland and the third judge giving the fight to Chimaev.
The close scorecards led to immediate claims of a robbery on social media.
Demetrious Johnson believes recovery is now just as important as hard work in top-level combat sports.
Johnson said “I think he trains too hard” while breaking down Chimaev’s performance.
He also said “If I spend all day sparring and drilling, then go destroy my body with extra workouts on top of that, I’m just breaking myself down”.
The former UFC flyweight champion thinks fighters sometimes confuse nonstop hard work with real progress.
Adding tough workouts to already hard sparring just wears the body down over time, according to Johnson.
UFC 328 featured one of the closest middleweight title fights in recent years.
The event took place in Newark, with Strickland winning back the belt by a narrow split decision.