Khamzat Chimaev will make the first defence of the UFC middleweight title against former champion Sean Strickland, with the fight confirmed for the main event of UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
UFC CEO Dana White announced on Thursday, confirming the bout that both fighters and their fanbases had been calling for. The booking also marks Chimaev’s return to the octagon for the first time since he won the belt, a dominant five-round decision over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 last August.
White left little doubt about where his excitement for this particular matchup came from. Speaking at the announcement, he said: “The main event, the fight people have been waiting for for a long time. Strickland looked incredible in his last performance. How much security do you think we’re going to need for Chimaev?”
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Chimaev (15-0) enters the fight unbeaten across nine UFC appearances, six of those by finish. His route to the belt ran through former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, a jaw-crunching submission win over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, and then the title-winning performance over du Plessis. The 31-year-old has been near-untouchable since arriving in the UFC in 2020, with the lone competitive blemish on his record being a knockdown suffered against Gilbert Burns in 2022, a fight Chimaev ultimately won by decision.
After claiming the belt, Chimaev publicly pushed for a jump to light heavyweight to fight Alex Pereira. White shut down the idea and told him to defend his own title first. An injury then pushed his return further into 2026, with plans for a bout against No. 2-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov reportedly discussed for both December and February before those negotiations collapsed.
Strickland (30-7) forced his way to the front of the line with a third-round knockout of Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in February, stopping the grappler’s eight-fight win streak in the process. Coming off back-to-back decision losses to du Plessis, including a title rematch at UFC 312 last year, few expected Strickland to receive a shot with just one win. But the American’s history with Chimaev and his performance in Houston proved persuasive.
Strickland also served a six-month suspension connected to an altercation with a regional fighter at a Tuff-N-Uff event in June 2025. His return fight against Hernandez was his first action since that suspension ended.
The rivalry between the two fighters dates back to their time training together at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Both tell dramatically different stories about what happened on the mats. Chimaev has long maintained he submitted Strickland repeatedly during those sessions. Strickland pushes back hard on that version.
“I made him quit in training,” Strickland said at the UFC Houston media day. “Witnesses are in the audience, where’s Eric [Nicksick] at? We were doing positional grappling and he starts on my back and it was the first round and I let him choke me because no one gives a f***.”
Strickland had more to say about his former training partner’s habits in the gym: “Every time Chimaev would walk in the gym, he would pick the smallest, lowest-level pro and say ‘he looks like my opponent.’ Chimaev’s a f***ing bully. And if you notice what he does in the division, he just runs and f***ing hides.”
Chimaev was direct in reply. “Habibi calm down, I destroyed the guy who beat you twice,” he wrote on X. “American b-tch.” The message was a pointed reference to du Plessis having defeated Strickland twice before Chimaev went on to dismantle du Plessis for the title. Chimaev also posted a teaser on X: “See you soon boy.”
Habibi calm down, I destroyed the guy who beat you twice 🤫
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) February 22, 2026
American bitch 😂
Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick, who was present for the sparring sessions in question, has declined to settle the debate publicly. “I think what happens in the training room should stay in the training room,” Nicksick told Submission Radio. “Training is training. Guys should be putting themselves in less advantageous positions to make themselves better.” He added in a separate interview with Action Network that both fighters’ shared history will carry weight come fight night: “There’s a backstory. Sean and Khamzat being training partners while Khamzat was in the gym, the back and forth and all that stuff. But stylistically, Sean can give Khamzat a tough fight.”
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Erick Nicksick on the Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland gym rumors: "leave it in the room."
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 24, 2026
"I think what happens in the training room should stay in the training room. Thinking that just because you beat a guy in the training room, whether you're on the A side or B side, you… pic.twitter.com/qnU7JkA3yT
Nicksick acknowledged the challenge Strickland’s camp faces on the ground. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us, and we know that.” He followed up about Chimaev’s systematic ground game, “If we can shut some of that stuff down and make him doubt on any of these routes that he’s on, especially when it comes to the ground game, he’s very systematic.”
This will be Strickland’s fourth UFC title fight. He shocked the division in September 2023 by outpointing Israel Adesanya to claim the middleweight belt, but could not hold it, losing a close decision to du Plessis in January 2024. A rematch the following year produced the same result. His path back to another shot, achieved with a single win, has attracted criticism given the standing of No. 2-ranked Imavov.
Beyond the headline, UFC 328 is shaping up as a strong card. In the co-main event, No. 2 heavyweight Alexander Volkov meets No. 4-ranked Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a potential title eliminator. Welterweights Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley are also matched up, while former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz rematches Bogdan Guskov after their majority draw at UFC 323. Jeremy Stephens returns against King Green in the card opener.
UFC 328 marks the promotion’s first return to the Prudential Center in Newark since UFC 316, and Strickland has history at the venue, having beaten Paulo Costa there in 2024 as part of that card’s co-main event.
The fight airs live on Paramount+.
