Strickland Reclaims Middleweight Title with Split Decision over Chimaev

Sean Strickland regained the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 328, edging Khamzat Chimaev by split decision in Newark. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Strickland while the third had it 48-47 for Chimaev, handing Strickland the victory in front of 17,783 fans at the Prudential Center.

The result marked Chimaev's first professional loss in 17 fights. The bout was largely attritional and tactical rather than explosive, never quite matching the intensity of the heated pre-fight build-up. Both men began by tapping gloves and the pre-fight animosity did not spill into sustained in-cage hostility.

At the final bell Strickland mimed buckling the belt around his waist, and Chimaev helped place the strap on him inside the octagon. The win gives the 35-year-old Strickland the middleweight crown for a second time; he first captured the 185-pound title in September 2023 and subsequently lost it in his first defense in January to Dricus du Plessis.