Sean Strickland stunned the MMA world by dethroning Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328 at the Prudential Center on Saturday night.
In a closely contested five-round battle, Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship with a split-decision victory. The judges scored the fight 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 in favour of the American, handing Chimaev the first defeat of his professional MMA career.
The victory made Strickland only the second fighter after Israel Adesanya to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion. His previous reign lasted from September 2023 until January 2024.
Strickland Defies The Odds
Coming into the fight, Chimaev was widely considered the favourite after capturing the middleweight title at UFC 319 by defeating Dricus Du Plessis. However, Strickland delivered a disciplined and composed performance to outwork the unbeaten champion across five rounds.
Despite intense bad blood in the lead-up to the contest, both fighters surprisingly showed respect by touching gloves at the start of the bout.
Strickland, who had earned another title shot after defeating Anthony Hernandez earlier this year, has now won back-to-back fights and improved his UFC record significantly with the upset victory.
Chimaev, meanwhile, dropped to 15-1 overall and failed in his first middleweight title defence.
Joshua Van Retains Flyweight Crown
In the co-main event, Joshua Van successfully defended his UFC flyweight title with a dramatic fifth-round TKO victory over Tatsuro Taira.
Although Taira dominated portions of the fight with repeated takedowns and control, Van showed remarkable resilience throughout the contest. The champion eventually overwhelmed his opponent with a barrage of strikes late in the final round to secure his first successful title defence.
UFC 328 Main Card Highlights
Alexander Volkov earned a unanimous-decision victory over Waldo Cortes-Acosta after controlling the fight with his jab, leg kicks and distance management.
Sean Brady dominated Joaquin Buckley across three rounds to secure a comprehensive unanimous-decision win.
Meanwhile, King Green submitted Jeremy Stephens in the opening round.
UFC 328 Results
| Fight | Result |
| Sean Strickland vs Khamzat Chimaev (c) | Strickland won via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) |
| Joshua Van (c) vs Tatsuro Taira | Van won via fifth-round TKO |
| Alexander Volkov vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta | Volkov won via unanimous decision |
| Sean Brady vs Joaquin Buckley | Brady won via unanimous decision |
| King Green vs Jeremy Stephens | Green won via first-round submission |
| Ateba Gautier vs Ozzy Diaz | Gautier won via second-round knockout |
| Yaroslav Amosov vs Joel Alvarez | Amosov won via second-round submission |
| Grant Dawson vs Mateusz Rebecki | Dawson won via third-round submission |
| Jim Miller vs Jared Gordon | Miller won via first-round submission |
| Roman Kopylov vs Marco Tulio | Kopylov won via unanimous decision |
| Pat Sabatini vs William Gomis | Sabatini won via unanimous decision |
| Baisangur Susurkaev vs Djorden Santos | Susurkaev won via third-round submission |
| Jose Ochoa vs Clayton Carpenter | Ochoa won via unanimous decision |
