UFC 328 will bring Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on a night built around two title fights. Chimaev is set to defend the middleweight title against Strickland in the main event, while Joshua Van puts the flyweight title on the line against Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event.
The matchup gives Newark another major card after the city became an annual stop on the UFC calendar over the last three years. It is also the second consecutive year that twin title fights have topped the bill in the city, and UFC 328 will be Newark's 11th UFC event dating back to UFC 78: Validation.
Chimaev arrives unbeaten and fresh off the performance that made him champion. He won the middleweight title at UFC 319 last August by dominating Dricus Du Plessis. Strickland, meanwhile, is back in a title bout after beating Anthony Hernandez by third-round stoppage in February to secure the shot.
That return comes with baggage. Strickland won the middleweight title at UFC 293 by defeating Israel Adesanya, but he dropped his next two championship bouts. Chimaev's run has been the opposite: six straight wins, a title, and no UFC loss on his record.
The co-main event carries its own recent history. Van took the flyweight title from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 last December, and Taira earned his place by stopping Brandon Moreno before UFC 328 was announced. Newark now gets two fights with real stakes, and the main event asks whether Strickland can turn another title shot into a second reign or whether Chimaev keeps moving through the division without a setback.
