Georges St-Pierre praises Sean Strickland's upset of 'better fighter' Khamzat Chimaev

Georges St-Pierre is impressed by Sean Strickland's upset of Khamzat Chimaev to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion.

Prior to Saturday's stunning title change at UFC 328, former 185-pound and welterweight champion St-Pierre felt Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was the "better fighter," but did not rule out Strickland (30-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) and his ability to put it all together on the night.

Strickland did the latter, taking Chimaev's patented explosion in the first round, then turning it into a competitive fight for the duration and leaving it in the hands of the judges. It was a close call, but Strickland emerged with the split decision triumph.

"I was surprised myself," St-Pierre told MMA Junkie. "The odds highly favored for Khamzat. I think Sean should change his nickname for 'The Boogeyman.' He's been doing this a few times now. He beats guys that nobody thinks he's going to beat. It's pretty unbelievable what he's been doing. He did it with a shoulder injury, and it's pretty amazing what he did. It looked like Khamzat got tired very fast. Maybe he cut too much weight. Sometimes there's things out of our control that influence the result of the fight. It was an incredible performance from Sean.

"He made Khamzat work very hard to keep him down, to ride him, and Khamzat looked like he got very tired. When he shot in the second round, he went on his back. I don't know what happened. It was the turning point of the fight. Then he had a second wind and got back in control. It was a very close fight. It could have gone either way. I thought the decision was right, and Strickland won the last round. Even though it was close, he deserved it. He did what he needed to win, and I can't wait to see what happens with Khamzat. Is he going to go up a weight class or try to go back at 185?"

Coming into the fight, Chimaev was a massive favorite and was viewed by many as an unstoppable force. He earned that type of respect after a string of strong performances and never having lost before, but Strickland was certain he was the man for the job and would shatter expectations.

St-Pierre said it speaks to the unpredictable nature of the sport, and Strickland's bulletproof mentality. The UFC Hall of Famer is still convinced that skill-for-skill, Chimaev has more to offer inside the octagon. It's an entirely different burden to put it all into practice when the stakes are at their highest point, though, and perhaps that's the chink in Chimaev's armor.

"Nobody's invincible," St-Pierre said. "It's not the best fighter who wins the fight, it's the fighter who fights the best, the night of the fight. If you don't believe me, look at any other sport. … I believe that Khamzat is a better fighter than Sean Strickland. But that night, Sean beat him. Sean can do it again next time. That's the thing. Being a champion, the No. 1 quality of a champion is to be good when it counts, when it matters. And it's very hard."

It appears there could be a next time, as well, because Chimaev has seemingly walked back his post-fight comments about moving up to light heavyweight. His team stated on Tuesday that Chimaev is "obsessed" with avenging his loss to Strickland and won't even consider any other fight.

St-Pierre is fully supportive of the pair running it back, but warns Chimaev that he must be fully prepared for everything it entails. Because Strickland has now shown on repeat occasions that he will be.

"(Strickland) doesn't get overwhelmed by the pressure, so he stays sharp. That's what makes champions," St-Pierre said. "I would love to see a rematch. It would be very interesting."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Georges St-Pierre: Chimaev still 'better' than Strickland despite loss