Khamzat Chimaevseemingly went through a grueling weight cut for his first UFC title defense.

Chimaev is slated to defend his middleweight title against former championSean Stricklandin the main event of UFC 328 on Saturday night inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The rivalry between Chimaev and Strickland has been fueled by nonstop verbal jabs and deeply personal shots throughout the buildup to UFC 328. Tensions boiled over once again during the pre-fight press conference, where both fighters traded heated insults and profanity in front of the crowd. Things escalated further during their faceoff, as “Borz” suddenly lost his cool andkicked the outspoken American.

THIS WAS INEVITABLE 👀@KChimaevvs@SStricklandMMA[#UFC328| MAY 9 | 9pmET | LIVE on@ParamountPlus]pic.twitter.com/Rm4OSEWSa7

However, there was no sign of that same aggression during theofficial UFC 328 weigh-inson Friday, where the undefeated Chechen appeared to be a shell of himself. Chimaev was the last fighter to weigh in, and although the reigning middleweight champion successfully hit the 185-pound limit, he appeared severely drained and struggled to hide the toll of a brutal weight cut.

Borz is ready to retain 🏆@KChimaevweighs in at 185lbs to make the main event OFFICIAL![#UFC328| May 9 | LIVE on@ParamountPlus]pic.twitter.com/1668kSfY2l

Arman Tsarukyan, who has been closely involved in his camp, later revealed that Chimaev went through a brutal weight cut ahead of UFC 328,claiming “Borz” had to drop nearly 45 poundsduring fight week to successfully make 185 pounds.

Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 328 weigh-in appearance quickly went viral across social media, with fans flooding the internet after noticing how unusually drained “Borz” looked on the scale, and even as he walked out of the room, he appeared completely lifeless.

His troubling demeanor immediately left many fans questioning how much the brutal weight cut may have taken out of him ahead of fight night, with some even predicting that he could suffer the first loss of his professional career tomorrow night.

He neeeds to rehydrate asapHe looks like he’s dying.

Source: LowKickMMA.com