Dominick Cruz predicts Sean Strickland vs Khamzat Chimaev

Former UFC champion Dominick Cruz has predicted the winner of the title fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.

Strickland will challenge Chimaev in a middleweight title fight at UFC 328 this weekend at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

This will be undefeated Chimaev’s first title defence, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in August 2025 at the United Center.

On the other hand, Strickland defeated Anthony Hernandez via knockout in the third round at UFC Houston in February.

Cruz shared his thoughts on the showdown during an interview with MMA Junkie.

"For Khamzat, unless he just improved a lot, in the Dricus fight he just needed to fight that way in order to keep Dricus down. It's going to be similar with Sean," Cruz said.

"Sean's not an easy guy to hold down. He's very, very well seasoned from his back to getting up. It's just his game. I had a similar game, and I'm very hard to hold down. Strickland has that same mentality. With DDP, he wasn't making some of the best decisions from his back."

Dominick Cruz added that he will go with his fellow American fighter to win the title on Saturday.

"I'll go with Strickland. "I'll go with the American. Why not? It's not so lopsided to me. I like Strickland. I like this style. He brings all the things to the table that make this a real fight. His style of striking is built for a wrestler to try to take him down. If there was a guy that could challenge Khamzat, this is the guy. We need to see it. I like it. I'll take him. Why not? Let's go American," he added.