John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration

Middleweight

Strickland conquered the boogeyman at UFC 328, taking a hard-fought
split decision triumph over Khamzat Chimaev in the evening’s main
event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on May 9. The
outspoken Xtreme Couture product has rebounded well from a pair of
title losses to Dricus Du Plessis and now begins his second
championship reign at 185 pounds. An immediate rematch with Chimaev
could be a possibility for Strickland, as could a trilogy with Du
Plessis or a clash with top contender Nassourdine Imavov, who
Strickland defeated in 2023.

Chimaev’s aura of invincibility ended for good at UFC 328, where he
dropped a split decision to Sean Strickland in a middleweight
championship clash on May 9 in Newark, New Jersey. While “Borz” had
shown chinks in his armor prior to facing Strickland, he had never
tasted defeat until his 25-minute duel with the Xtreme Couture
representative. Chimaev should be commended for rallying after
appearing to gas in Round 2, but plans of a move to 205 pounds
might be ill-advised after he struggled to keep Strickland down
after a strong opening stanza. Given the close nature of the
defeat, Chimaev could be in line for an immediate rematch with his
former training partner if he remains at middleweight.
Du Plessis was too big, too strong and just a step ahead of Kamaru
Usman throughout their encounter in the headliner of UFC Oklahoma
City on July 18, cruising to a one-sided unanimous decision. While
the win over a 39-year-old former welterweight did not elevate his
stock much, it answered many of the questions lingering over Du
Plessis after his deflating title loss to Khamzat Chimaev last
August. Whether his next matchup is a rematch with Chimaev or a
shot at Sean Strickland, against whom he is already 2-0,
“Stillknocks” reaffirmed his place as one of the very best
middleweights in MMA.

Imavov delivered in front of the home folks, taking a clear-cut
unanimous decision over Caio Borralho in the UFC Paris headliner on
Sept. 6. “The Sniper” extended his winning streak to five, a run
that also includes triumphs over the likes of Israel Adesanya,
Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze. While Imavov
appeared to be the leader in the clubhouse for the next
middleweight title shot against Khamzat Chimaev, that opportunity
instead went to Sean Strickland.
Heading into the UFC Houston main event, Hernandez looked like a
potential championship contender as he compiled an impressive
eight-fight winning streak. However, he had no answers against Sean
Strickland, falling to the ex-champ via third-round technical
knockout at the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 21. While “Fluffy”
sees his title dreams dashed in the immediate future, he still has
time to build momentum toward another run at the 185-pound belt.
That will begin with a showdown against dangerous Brazlian Gregory
Rodrigues in the UFC Sacramento main event.
Allen was rock-solid at UFC Vegas 118, turning back the surging
Edmen Shahbazyan in their co-main event matchup. Faced with a foe
capable of lightning-strike offense, Allen was calm, tactical and
fearless, showing the depth and diversity of his own striking
arsenal, including a nasty elbow strike that cut Shahbazyan’s face
wide open. The 30-year-old Louisiana native has now won three
straight fights since suffering the only losing streak of his
career in late 2024 and early 2025, and gives every indication that
his best days at middleweight might still be ahead of him.
Borralho relied on superior speed and athleticism to capture a
unanimous decision triumph over Reinier de Ridder in the UFC 326
co-main event on March 7 in Las Vegas. That allows the Fighting
Nerds representative to rebound from his lone Octagon defeat: a
five-round setback to Nassourdine Imavov last September. “The
Natural” has won eight of nine UFC appearances overall.8. Joe Pyfer
(16-3) | UFC [8]
Pyfer picked up a signature win at UFC Seattle, as he finished
ex-champ Israel Adesanya with ground-and-pound at the 4:18 mark of
Round 2 in their headlining bout at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
on March 28. The 28-year-old Pennsylvania native has won seven of
eight Octagon appearances and seems to have improved significantly
since suffering his lone UFC defeat to Jack Hermansson in February
2024. “Bodybagz” should be well positioned for a high-profile
matchup when he is ready to return to action.
De Ridder dropped his second straight Octagon appearance at UFC
326, falling to Caio Borralho via unanimous decision in the
evening’s co-headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March
7. After emerging as a middleweight title contender with victories
in his first four promotional outings, the former ONE Championship
two-division title holder’s stock has fallen significantly on the
heels of back-to-back losses to Borralho and Brendan Allen. De
Ridder recently announced plans to move to 205 pounds.
Van Steenis showed his July 2024 upset of Johnny Eblen was no
fluke, as he knocked out Fabian Edwards with an elbow in the third
round of their middleweight title bout at PFL Madrid on March 20.
“The Spaniard” has won four straight outings — all inside the
distance — since dropping a unanimous decision against Douglas Lima
at Bellator 296 in May 2023. While planning on facing Eblen in a
rematch at PFL Austin, an undisclosed injury has put him on the
shelf long enough for the promotion to create an interim
championship bout between Eblen and former foe Impa Kasanganay.

Other Contenders: Johnny
Eblen, Israel
Adesanya, Robert
Whittaker, Michael
Page, Christian
Leroy Duncan.

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