{"id":660365,"date":"2026-05-09T19:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T19:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/660365\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T19:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T19:05:08","slug":"dominant-middleweights-clash-for-belt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/660365\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominant Middleweights Clash For Belt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bringing the action to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, UFC 328<\/a> features a stacked championship double header main card. Taking top billing for the event, undefeated Chechen juggernaut and current middleweight apex Khamzat Chimaev puts his title on the line against the polarizing Sean Strickland. Before that, however, flyweight gold standard Joshua Van takes on Tatsuro Taira in the UFC\u2019s first all-Asian championship bout.<\/p>\n

UFC 328 Main Event<\/p>\n

After a phenomenal run at welterweight, which saw him conquer the likes of Li Jingliang, Kevin Holland, and Gilbert Burns, Chimaev<\/a> made the permanent move to middleweight in late 2023. While many questioned how he would fare against the elite of the division, \u201cBorz\u201d has proven to be a completely dominant force, defeating a trio of former and then current champions in a row in Kamaru Usman, Robert Whittaker, and Dricus du Plessis. Seen as a pound-for-pound great in the sport, Chimaev now looks to settle the score with a former teammate for the whole world to see.<\/p>\n

A highly-controversial, but stellar figure at 185-lb, Strickland<\/a> has been a fixture of the weight class\u2019s upper echelon for years, having traded blows with bonafide legends such as du Plessis, Israel Adesanya, and Alex Pereira. Having once sat upon the throne as champion in the not-so-distant past, \u201cTarzan\u201d is seeking to reclaim his spot as the undisputed king of the middleweights while handing Chimaev his first ever loss as a professional.<\/p>\n

UFC 328 Co-Main Event\u00a0<\/p>\n

At just the young age of 24, Van<\/a> is among the youngest champions in UFC history, and is seemingly entering his prime as a fighter. With a volume output that is monstrous even by flyweight standards, \u201cThe Fearless\u201d\u2019s unyielding striking and cardio have proven to be a difficult puzzle to solve for even the most stalwart of opposition.<\/p>\n

Also hitting his stride as a phenom in mixed martial arts, Taira\u2019s<\/a> meteoric rise has raised him all the way near the top of the 125-lb rankings. With just one final adversary between him and the belt, the Japanese prodigy is eager to make history as the first fighter from his country to have UFC gold wrapped around his waist.<\/p>\n

More Bouts On the UFC 328 Main Card\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rounding out the main card, heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Waldo Cortes-Acosta face off. Then, welterweight top 10 members Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley. Finally, lightweight veterans King Green and Jeremy Stephens come to blows. \u00a0<\/p>\n

UFC 328 Predictions and Staff Picks<\/p>\n

MMASucka staff picks are composed of four of the world\u2019s leading mixed martial arts organizations: the Ultimate Fighting Championship<\/a> (UFC), the Professional Fighters League<\/a> (PFL), ONE Championship<\/a> (ONE FC), and Dana White\u2019s Contender Series<\/a> (DWCS).<\/p>\n

UFC picks will include main card fights ranging from four to six matchups per event.<\/p>\n

PFL picks from main cards for both pay-per-views and regular events.<\/p>\n

ONE FC and DWCS picks will feature all MMA fights from the event with a minimum of three matchups.<\/p>\n

Staff picks in 2025 were won by Hank Strandberg with a record of 216-119.<\/p>\n

Find our UFC 328 picks and fight odds below.<\/p>\n

Staff records after UFC Perth:\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Hank Strandberg: 65-34<\/p>\n

2. Frazer Krohn: 57-43<\/p>\n

3. Drew Zuhosky: 47-51<\/p>\n

4. Andrew Benjamin: 11-10<\/p>\n

*Note \u2013 not all staff pick for every event*<\/p>\n

King Green -350 vs. Jeremy Stephens +285 \u2014 LIGHTWEIGHT<\/p>\n

Staff Member
\nPick<\/p>\n

Hank Strandberg
\nGreen by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Drew Zuhosky
\nGreen by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Frazer Krohn
\nGreen by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Andrew Benjamin
\nGreen by Second Round Knockout<\/p>\n

Staff picking Green: 4
\nStaff picking Stephens: 0<\/p>\n

Sean Brady -150 vs. Joaquin Buckley +130 \u2014 WELTERWEIGHT<\/p>\n

Staff Member
\nPick<\/p>\n

Hank Strandberg
\nBrady by Unanimous Decision\/p><\/p>\n

Drew Zuhosky
\nBrady by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Frazer Kron
\nBrady by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Andrew Benjamin
\nBrady by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Staff picking Brady: 4
\nStaff picking Buckley: 0<\/p>\n

Alexander Volkov -149 vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta +129 \u2014 HEAVYWEIGHT<\/p>\n

Staff Member
\nPick<\/p>\n

Hank Strandberg
\nVolkov by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Drew Zuhosky
\nCortes-Acosta by First Round Knockout<\/p>\n

Frazer Kron
\nVolkov by Unanimous Decision \/p><\/p>\n

Andrew Benjamin
\nVolkov by Split Decision<\/p>\n

Staff picking Volkov: 3
\nStaff picking Cortes-Acosta: 1<\/p>\n

Tatsuro Taira -160 vs. Josh Van +140 \u2014 FLYWEIGHT<\/p>\n

Staff Member
\nPick<\/p>\n

Hank Strandberg
\nVan by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Drew Zuhosky
\nVan by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Frazer Krohn
\nTaira by Third Round Submission<\/p>\n

Andrew Benjamin
\nVan by Fourth Round Knockout<\/p>\n

Staff picking Taira: 1
\nStaff picking Van: 3<\/p>\n

Khamzat Chimaev -600 vs. Sean Strickland +425 \u2014 MIDDLEWEIGHT<\/p>\n

Staff Member
\nPick<\/p>\n

Hank Strandberg
\nChimaev by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Drew Zuhosky
\nChimaev by Unanimous Decision<\/p>\n

Frazer Krohn
\nChimaev by Fourth Round Knockout<\/p>\n

Andrew Benjamin
\nChimaev by Third Round Submission<\/p>\n

Staff picking Chimaev: 4
\nStaff Picking Strickland: 0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bringing the action to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, UFC 328 features a stacked championship double…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,4120,785,43022,85,787,305128],"class_list":["post-660365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-khamzat-chimaev","tag-mma","tag-sean-strickland","tag-sports","tag-ufc","tag-ufc-328-chimaev-vs-strickland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}