Strickland wins by split decision at UFC 328 against Chimaev

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Sean Strickland Wins UFC Championship for Second Time

Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev via split decision to win the 185-pound championship at UFC 328. The fight took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with a crowd of 17,783 fans in attendance.

The bout saw Strickland take two scorecards 48-47 and Chimaev receive one scorecard at 48-47. After the fifth round, Strickland mimed putting on the championship belt, with Chimaev assisting him inside the cage.

In the lead-up to the fight, both fighters engaged in trash talk, with Strickland threatening to shoot Chimaev and labeling him a “terrorist” due to his ties to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. However, neither fighter’s pre-fight hostility spilled over into the actual bout.

Strickland, 35, won the championship for the second time in his career, having previously held it in September 2023 and lost it in his first title defense. After the fight, he apologized to fans of all ethnicities, acknowledging that he “went too hard” in using stereotypes to sell the fight.

The event also featured a co-main event between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira, with Van defending his 125-pound title via stoppage at 1:32 of round five. The bout marked the first UFC title fight contested between two Asian fighters, both born in the 2000s.

Other notable fights on the main card included Sean Brady defeating Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision, King Green choking out Jeremy Stephens, and Alexander Volkov defeating Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision. On the undercard, Jim Miller won a lightweight bout against Jared Gordon with a rear-naked choke at 3:29 of the first round.

UFC CEO Dana White described the event as a “1 of 1” show, timed for United States President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. However, Trump did not attend the event.

Source: Al Jazeera