Today (Thurs., March 12, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White announced that Middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev will make the first defense of his title against former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on Sat., May 9, 2026, inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Chimaev and Strickland have shared extreme bad blood for years, and now they\u2019ll finally get the chance to settle it inside the Octagon.<\/p>\n
Chimaev (15-0) captured the Middleweight title last year when he completely dominated Dricus du Plessis over five rounds (watch no highlights<\/a>). The 31-year-old remains perfect in his UFC career, winning all nine of his Octagon appearances \u2014 six of them by finish<\/a>.<\/p>\n That run includes a jaw-crushing submission<\/a> victory over former champion Robert Whittaker, as well as a win over former Welterweight king Kamaru Usman.<\/p>\n Strickland (30-7) punched his ticket to another title opportunity in his most recent outing by knocking out Anthony Hernandez, snapping the grappler\u2019s eight-fight win streak (watch highlights<\/a>). The victory came after Strickland spent a year away from competition, partly due to a six-month suspension<\/a> stemming from an altercation with a regional fighter who had defeated one of his teammates at a Tuff-N-Uff event last June (details here<\/a>).<\/p>\n The foul-mouthed contender is 2-2 in his last four fights, though both losses came in title bouts against du Plessis<\/a>. He also holds notable victories over Israel Adesanya, Nassourdine Imavov, and Paulo Costa \u2014 the latter of which took place in Newark back in 2024.<\/p>\n Here is what UFC 328 looks like so far:<\/p>\n More fights are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n