Khamzat Chimaev explains why he forgave Sean Strickland

Khamzat
Chimaev doesn’t hold grudges after a fight. 

Chimaev (15-1) lost his middleweight title to Sean
Strickland (31-7) via close split decision at UFC 328
last weekend. While the rivalry seemed intense in the lead-up to
the fight, Strickland and Chimaev squashed their beef immediately
after the fight. Chimaev and Strickland have since faced backlash
for building up a fake rivalry. 

Chimaev recently explained why he decided to bury the hatchet with
Strickland. Chimaev says that he doesn’t believe in keeping grudges
after sharing the Octagon with his opponent. Chimaev gave his best
inside the Octagon and came up on the short end of a decision.
Strickland also apologized to Chimaev for crossing boundaries with
his trash talk. “Borz” says he believes in forgiveness when someone
asks for it.

Forgive and Forget

“And regarding that guy — he said a lot of unnecessary things,”
Chimaev said on his Instagram Stories (translation via Home of
Fight). “People were asking why I shook his hand and why I put the
belt on him afterward. We don’t have the habit of talking or
fighting after a loss. If we fight, we fight inside the cage, and
we fought as best as we could. What Allah has decided is no longer
in our control. That guy lowered his head and asked for
forgiveness. If a person asks for forgiveness, I can forgive him.
I’m not an oppressor so that I would refuse to forgive.”