For the first time in his professional career, Khamzat Chimaev appeared vulnerable. At UFC 328, the previously unbeaten fighter, known for relentless pressure and suffocating wrestling, faded significantly in the later rounds against Sean Strickland. After dominating early on, his speed dropped as the fight progressed, ultimately resulting in a split decision loss in Newark.
Immediately after the bout, attention shifted from the judges’ scorecards to those preparing him behind the scenes. Former UFC fighter Saidyokub Kakhramonov was among the most vocal critics, specifically targeting Chimaev’s strength and conditioning coach, Sam Calavitta.
“Worst S&C coach in MMA history,” Kakhramonov wrote on X. “Guy has a history of high-volume and high-intensity methods. Wearing his fighters down before they ever get to the fight. Injuries all over the place. Pico, TJ, now Khamzat.”
Those remarks reignited past criticism of Calavitta’s demanding training approach at Treigning Lab in California, especially after reports emerged that Chimaev had cut over 45 pounds during fight week.
Interestingly, former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw had previously praised Calavitta’s methods and even personally introduced Chimaev to him. Dillashaw had claimed the system would improve the fighter’s gas tank and weight management in the long run.
“I met him, and I introduced him to this guy, Sam Calavitta,” Dillashaw said on the Overdogs podcast. “So Chimaev is doing it right now, and I highly suspect he’s going to have an amazingly better gas tank for his next fight, and I think he’s going to get the win because of it. He’s going to make the weight better, which in turn is going to make his cardio better, and he’s going to train the right way.”
However, Dillashaw’s own career later became closely tied to injuries, though he denied they were linked to Calavitta’s methods, unlike what Kakhramonov alleged.
“Back in 2017, I dislocated my shoulder again doing the coaches’ challenge against Cody Garbrandt,” Dillashaw added. “We had to play tetherball on a balance beam, like a gymnastic balance beam, and we’re above a pool. I went to go fall off and catch myself, and I dislocated my shoulder out the back, and ever since then, it’s been giving me issues.”
Now, after Chimaev appeared to slow down against Strickland in his toughest test yet, those old conversations have resurfaced with renewed intensity. Whether the problem was an extreme weight cut, overtraining, or Strickland dragging him into unfamiliar territory, the debate over Chimaev’s preparation has grown louder than ever. In fact, Demetrious Johnson has also weighed in with his blunt assessment.
Demetrious Johnson doubles down on the “overtraining” claim
Demetrious Johnson does not buy the idea that Chimaev simply “gassed out.” After watching the UFC 328 main event, the former flyweight champion suggested a deeper issue: Chimaev’s own training may have worked against him by the time he stepped into the cage with Sean Strickland. Johnson specifically highlighted the possibility of overtraining, pointing to the fighter’s drastic weight cut and intense regimen as potential causes for his late-fight struggles.