At UFC 328 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, Khamzat Chimaev’s first defense of the UFC middleweight title unexpectedly marked a shift in power, as Sean Strickland ended his reign and became a two-time champion with a split decision victory.
Strickland (31-7 MMA) won 47-48, 48-47, 48-47, handing Chimaev (15-1 MMA) his first professional loss. After four days of intense animosity leading up to the fight, the two embraced following the bout.
“He’s a f***ing savage. That motherf***er would not go back,” Strickland said of Chimaev. “I’m hitting him with everything, and he just keeps coming forward. Crazy.”
Chimaev started strong, nearly securing a rear-naked choke in the opening round. In the second, a stuffed takedown from Chimaev allowed Strickland to take side control and land strikes from the top—a rare sight in Chimaev’s career. Round 3 saw both fighters stand and trade, with Strickland’s jab finding its mark while Chimaev ignored the crowd’s chants of “F*** you, Khamzat.”
By Round 4, Chimaev fought more cautiously on the feet as Strickland’s nose was visibly bloodied. A late takedown from Chimaev briefly gave him control, but the round ended quickly. In the final round, Chimaev kept Strickland against the fence in the clinch, but Strickland broke free. Chimaev landed nine takedowns overall, but Strickland dominated in significant strikes, 123-98.
In the co-main event, UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van (17-2 MMA) of Myanmar successfully defended his title for the first time, stopping Japan’s Tatsuro Taira (18-2 MMA) via TKO at 1:32 of the fifth and final round. The fight featured multiple twists: Taira repeatedly secured takedowns and mount, while Van’s jab and a near rear-naked choke attempt in Round 3 kept it competitive. Many pundits had the fight 2-2 going into the final round.
After the win, Van called out Alexandre Pantoja, from whom he won the title in December when Pantoja dislocated his elbow after a fall at UFC 323. Pantoja was in attendance in Newark.
“I’ll fight you again if you want,” Van said to Pantoja in his post-fight interview.
Taira had never been finished in his previous 19 fights, losing only a decision to Brandon Royval in October 2024.
In the featured heavyweight bout, Russia’s Alexander Volkov (40-11 MMA) outlasted Cuba’s Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-3 MMA) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Despite no dynamic TKO from Volkov, volume striking proved decisive. Cortes-Acosta saw his three-fight winning streak snapped. The division remains in flux until Tom Aspinall recovers from an eye injury and the interim title fight between Alex Pereira and Cyril Gane at UFC Freedom 250 takes place.
UFC welterweight Sean Brady overwhelmed Joaquin Buckley with ground strikes from the mount position, four takedowns, 12:09 of ground control time, and several submission attempts, winning a dominant unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-27). Brady (19-2 MMA) bounced back, winning four of his last five, with his only loss in that span to Michael Morales. Buckley fell to 21-8 MMA.
