Andreas HaleMar 13, 2026, 01:45 PM
CloseAndreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas’ free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z’s Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film “Bridges” in 2024.
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Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his first defense of the UFC middleweight title against former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 9, the promotion announced Thursday.
Chimaev (15-0) won the title with a lopsided unanimous decision over Dricus du Plessis in August. He has waited patiently for his first assignment, and it will come in the form of a former middleweight champion.
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Strickland (30-7) vaulted into the title picture with an impressive stoppage win over Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez last month. The UFC’s No. 3 ranked middleweight earned the nod over No. 2 ranked Nassourdine Imavov, who lost to Strickland in 2023 but has won his past five fights.
Strickland last held UFC gold when he stunned Israel Adesanya with a unanimous decision win in 2023. He dropped the title to du Plessis in his first defense and lost the rematch in February 2025.
Chimaev, of Chechnya, is ranked No. 4 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list.