Bad blood boils as Khamzat Chimaev defends middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 328
Khamzat Chimaev will defend his middleweight title against former champion Sean Strickland in the UFC 328 main event, headlining a stacked pay-per-view card at Newark’s Prudential Center on May 9.
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland
UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchup in a video announcement and across the promotion’s social channels, tying it to a schedule reveal that runs through the UFC “White House” card in June. UFC 328 takes place at “The Rock” in downtown Newark, New Jersey, with ticket sites listing the event for Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the Prudential Center. The broadcast promotion on X bills UFC 328 as “LIVE MAY 9” on Paramount Plus, in partnership with Visit New Jersey and the arena.
In the main event, Khamzat Chimaev finally makes his first defense of the middleweight belt after winning the title last summer against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319. Chimaev dominated that fight, smothering Du Plessis over five rounds and sweeping the scorecards to become undisputed champion at 185 pounds.
Since moving up from welterweight, the undefeated 31-year-old has gone 3-0 at middleweight with a run of wins over former champions Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker before his title-clinching performance. He enters UFC 328 with a spotless record and plenty of questions about how far he can push this championship reign.
Tension between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland has been brewing for years, fuelled by clashing personalities and a steady drip of callouts in interviews and social clips. Chimaev has framed Strickland as a noisy gatekeeper standing in the way of his plans to dominate middleweight, while Strickland has repeatedly questioned Chimaev’s title legitimacy and the matchmaking that fast-tracked him into contention.
Their exchanges have swung from technical criticism to personal digs, with Strickland mocking Chimaev’s style and gas tank, and Chimaev firing back by promising to “smesh” the former champion and end his run in brutal fashion. By the time UFC 328 was announced, the matchup felt less like a standard title defense and more like the inevitable collision of two fighters who have been circling each other, trading insults and building a grudge that should spill over as soon as they share the cage on fight week.
Strickland brings championship experience and recent momentum into the title challenge. The American is coming off a February TKO win over Anthony Hernandez, a result that reset his campaign after a decision loss to Du Plessis in their rematch at UFC 312 one year earlier.
Strickland first captured gold in 2023 when he upset long-time champion Israel Adesanya, then dropped the belt to Du Plessis at UFC 297 before a win over Paulo Costa and another defeat to Du Plessis. He has been alternating wins and losses during this stretch but used his post-fight mic time after the Hernandez bout to call for Chimaev and secured exactly that matchup.
UFC 328
The co-main event adds heavyweight power to the lineup, with Alexander Volkov set to face Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Volkov remains a seasoned contender in the division, while Cortes-Acosta continues his climb after earning a reputation as a durable, high-output heavyweight. Their placement in the penultimate slot gives the card a stylistic contrast to the tactical, grudge-laced main event.
Further down the UFC 328 main card, rising welterweight contender Sean Brady meets Joaquin Buckley in a relocated bout that was originally targeted to headline an Apex Fight Night before being moved to Newark. Former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz takes on Azamat Guskov in a rematch, offering veteran name value and a chance for redemption at 205 pounds.
Fan favorite Bobby “King” Green is also slated for action against a fighter listed as Jeremy Stephens Gautier in early reporting, while Ozzy Diaz joins the lineup in another main-card bout. White’s announcement positioned this cluster of fights as the core of the UFC 328 main card around Chimaev vs Strickland.
