Strickland Stuns Chimaev to Recapture Middleweight Crown at UFC 328
The battles inside the Octagon lived up to the hype at UFC 328, and by the end of the night Sean Strickland had reached rarefied air once again.
Strickland became a two-time UFC middleweight champion, dethroning Khamzat Chimaev by split decision in a technical, tightly contested main event. By the end of the 25-minute war, the two men embraced — a stark contrast from the heated build-up that required extra security throughout fight week.
The hype chaos of two psychos trying to destroy each other gave way to a high-level tactical battle once the cage door shut.
As expected, Chimaev stormed forward immediately, taking Strickland’s back early in the opening round. But Strickland began finding his trademark jab in the second, and when another takedown attempt failed, Chimaev elected to pull guard.
The third round will likely remain the most debated frame of the fight. Primarily contested on the feet, Strickland piled up jabs while Chimaev still managed to bloody the challenger’s nose. The fourth mirrored much of the third, though a completed takedown by Chimaev appeared to secure the round for the champion.
With the fight hanging in the balance entering the fifth, Strickland rose to the moment. He stuffed Chimaev’s takedown attempts, opened up with his boxing combinations, and punctuated the round with a late right hand that visibly affected Chimaev and may have ultimately swayed the judges.
After early success with his grappling, Chimaev was forced into a prolonged striking battle, where Strickland’s jab-heavy offense consistently disrupted his rhythm and neutralized much of his wrestling game.
In the co-main event, flyweight champion Joshua Van delivered another statement performance, stopping Tatsuro Taira in the fifth round of a thrilling title fight.
Taira controlled much of the opening 10 minutes, dictating the pace with his grappling and positional control. However, an escape from bottom position in the final 30 seconds of the second round gave Van new life, and the champion immediately capitalized by dropping Taira with a massive right hand.
Momentum fully shifted in the third as Van’s sharp jab sliced up the challenger and sent him to the canvas again. Taira battled back admirably in the fourth, securing takedowns and briefly mounting the champion, but Van escaped and landed enough clean counters late to make the round competitive.
In the fifth, the 23-year-old champion’s speed proved overwhelming. Van repeatedly denied takedowns before unleashing a barrage to the body, followed by an overhand right and left hook combination that forced the referee to step in for the TKO finish.
At heavyweight, No. 2-ranked contender Alexander Volkov earned his second straight decision victory, frustrating the momentum of Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Volkov employed a disciplined stick-and-move approach, using a stiff jab and varied kicking attack to keep the dangerous Dominican from settling into the pocket exchanges he thrives in.
Welterweight contender Sean Brady turned in one of the most dominant performances of his career, overwhelming Joaquin Buckley across three rounds. Brady repeatedly caught Buckley’s kicks and converted them into powerful takedowns, controlling the fight from top position and advancing to mount multiple times. It was a massive rebound performance for the Philadelphia native following his knockout loss to Michael Morales.
Opening the main card, King Green collected his third consecutive win by submitting Jeremy Stephens in the first round. Green battered Stephens with body kicks and sharp counters before capitalizing on a wild missed punch to secure a takedown. Ground strikes opened up the back take, and Green locked in the rear-naked choke for the 10th submission victory of his career.
Elsewhere on the card, the hype surrounding Ateba Gautier continued to grow after he flattened Ozzy Diaz with a perfectly timed overhand right in the second round, earning the ninth knockout win of his career.
Former Bellator champion Yaroslav Amosov showcased his world-class grappling by dominating Joel Alvarez before securing a head-and-arm choke in the second round, making a strong case for ranked competition moving forward.
Veteran Jim Miller added another memorable finish to his legendary career, submitting Jared Gordon with a guillotine choke after Gordon attempted to turn a caught body kick into a takedown.
Despite fighting through a badly swollen and cut right eye, Roman Kopylov rallied late to knock down Marco Tulio three times over the final rounds to steal a decision victory.
Pat Sabatini relied on relentless pressure and cage control to secure a unanimous decision over William Gomis.
Highly touted prospect Baisangur Susurkaev systematically broke down Djorden Santos by attacking the lead leg and body before eventually securing a third-round rear-naked choke submission.
Rounding out the action, Jose Ochoa earned a dominant unanimous decision over Clayton Carpenter, badly damaging Carpenter throughout the fight and leaving him bloodied by the final horn.
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