How does he keep doing it?

TL;DR

Sean Strickland regained the UFC middleweight title as a 4-to-1 underdog by mastering ambiguous, high-volume defensive fighting that confounds judges.

Key Points

• 1.Strickland is arguably the greatest odds-breaker in combat sports history. He has now pulled off two massive title fight upsets — first against Israel Adesanya, now against Hamza Chimaev — both times as a heavy underdog near 4-to-1 odds.
• 2.His formula is deliberate ambiguity, not dominance. Strickland retreats constantly and lands high-volume strikes that don't look devastating, keeping rounds so close that media scores and even the fighters themselves were split 50/50 on who won.
• 3.Strickland becomes only the second middleweight in UFC history to regain the title after losing it. He recorded 123 significant strikes — his lowest in any title fight — but it was the most ever landed on Chimaev, who Dana White confirmed has now abandoned 185 lbs.
• 4.The pre-fight buildup drove massive viewership, and Strickland later admitted the trash talk was theater. He apologized at the post-fight mic for going too far at the presser, confirming the controversy — including a weigh-in kick — was a promotional stunt that worked.
• 5.Joshua Van and Jim Miller delivered standout co-card performances. Van landed 131 significant strikes in a flyweight title banger tying him 3rd all-time in divisional UFC wins; Miller, at 50+ UFC bouts, earned a first-round sub and a new five-fight deal from Dana White.