Khamzat Chimaev's first UFC middleweight title defense surprisingly marked a changing of the guard, as Sean Strickland ruined his plans by becoming a two-time UFC middleweight champion at UFC 328 in Newark, N.J., on Saturday.
Strickland's (31-7 MMA) split decision victory -- 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 -- handed Chimaev (15-1 MMA) his first loss as both men embraced after a four-day buildup peppered with a ton of animosity.
"He's a ... savage," Strickland, 35, said of Chimaev afterward as he apologized for pre-fight rancor. "I'm hitting him with everything, and he just keeps coming forward. Crazy."
After a dominant opening round from the incumbent which nearly saw Chimaev secure a rear-naked choke, a stuffed Chimaev takedown in the second led to Strickland being in side-control, landing strikes from the top position -- a sequence rarely seen in Chimaev's career to that point.
In Round 3, both men kept the fight standing as Strickland found a home for the jab. Chimaev ignored obscenity-filled jeering from spectators at Prudential Center as he attempted to remain focused.
By Round 4, Chimaev used a much more tentative approach on the feet as Strickland's nose was visibly bloody and compromised. A late takedown from Chimaev, a Russian who fights out of the United Arab Emirates, gave him his third in his last five attempts, albeit briefly, as the round ended.
With five minutes remaining, Chimaev kept Strickland against the fence in the clinch as Strickland eventually broke free back to the center of the octagon. Chimaev ended the fight with nine takedowns, but Strickland held a sizable 123-98 edge in significant strikes.
The American had won the 185-pound title in September 2023 with an upset of Nigeria's Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision.
The co-main event saw UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van (17-2 MMA) of Myanmar successfully defend his title for the first time, securing a TKO win against Japan's Tatsuro Taira 1:32 into the fifth and final round.
The fight encountered many twists and turns. As Taira (18-2 MMA) kept getting takedowns and the mount position, Van's jab and a near rear-naked choke attempt in Round 3 were the perfect counter to a potential Fight of the Year candidate that many pundits had 2-2 entering the final round.
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Van had a few choice words for Alexandre Pantoja, from whom he took the title in December when Pantoja dislocated his elbow after a bad fall, resulting in a TKO via an unexpected finish to their UFC 323 fight. Pantoja had a front-row seat to the action in Newark, N.J.
"We can run it back if you want," Van said to Pantoja during his post-fight interview.
Taira had never been finished in his previous 19 fights, only losing a decision to Brandon Royval in October 2024 at UFC Vegas 98.
In the featured heavyweight main card bout, second-ranked Alexander Volkov of Russia outlasted fourth-ranked Waldo Cortes-Acosta of the Dominican Republic, earning a unanimous decision win 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Although it wasn't a dynamic TKO from Volkov (40-11 MMA) that he's primarily used to, volume striking made the difference.
Cortes-Acosta (17-3 MMA) had a three-fight winning streak snapped. The entire division remains at a standstill until Tom Aspinall returns to full health from his eye injury and the interim title fight between Alex Pereira and Cyril Gane at UFC Freedom 250. After that, what's next for Volkov can be determined.
UFC welterweight Sean Brady overwhelmed Joaquin Buckley with ground strikes from the mount position across 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, having now won four of his last five, with his only loss coming to Michael Morales in that span. Buckley (21-8 MMA) has done the opposite, taking back-to-back losses. Buckley is still seeking his first win since December 2024, landing only 21 strikes throughout the 15-minute contest against 245 from Brady.
King Green kicked off the UFC 328 main card emphatically with a first-round rear-naked choke (4:20) submission over fellow UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens at lightweight -- even though Stephens came in four pounds overweight -- in a one-sided affair. Green (35-17-1 MMA) picked up his 16th UFC win, extending his winning streak to three.
Meanwhile, Stephens (29-23 MMA) is in his second stint with the promotion, having competed on and off overall since 2007, and is still searching for his first UFC win since February 2018.
--Field Level Media
