Veteran referee John McCarthy has shed light on the struggles Khamzat Chimaev faced during his final weight cut before losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland. In his YouTube podcast, McCarthy revealed that Chimaev’s camp fed him improper food, causing severe issues at the last stage of weight cutting.
“I learned something about his weight cut and what happened, and it actually surprised me. I was told the people around him were feeding him the wrong food—stuff he wasn’t supposed to be eating. That created a problem, and in the end, he had to cut 14 pounds (6.35 kg) at the very last moment, which literally dried him out,” McCarthy said.
The bout took place at UFC 328 in Newark, USA, where Chimaev lost via split decision to Strickland, ending his unbeaten run in the promotion.