Tapology has introduced a new feature that displays an opponent quality level for UFC fighters in their profiles. The rating is calculated using a special formula and expressed on a scale from 1 to 99. The calculation considers a fighter's last six UFC bouts only, excluding fights in other organizations. For UFC 328, the top five ratings belong to Sean Strickland (74), Khamzat Chimaev (69), Alexander Volkov (67), Joaquin Buckley (55), and Sean Brady (54). The lowest ratings on the card include Baisangur Susurkaev and Ozzy Diaz (both at 4).
Tapology has rolled out a new opponent quality rating system for UFC fighters, with the feature going live ahead of UFC 328, scheduled for May 9, 2026. The tool assigns each fighter a score on a scale from 1 to 99, calculated through a proprietary formula that considers only the fighter's last six bouts inside the UFC, excluding any results from other promotions.
Among the UFC 328 card, middleweight champion Sean Strickland leads all fighters with a rating of 74. The 35-year-old American, who trains out of Xtreme Couture and carries a 31-7-0 record, has built his résumé against consistently high-level opposition. Strickland throws at a volume of 6.04 significant strikes per minute and holds a 76-inch reach at six-foot-one.
Khamzat Chimaev comes in second at 69, followed by heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov at 67. Volkov, ranked first in the heavyweight division, is a 37-year-old Russian standing six-foot-seven with an 80-inch reach and a 40-11-0 professional record. He lands significant strikes at a 57 percent accuracy rate, among the higher marks on the card.
Welterweight Sean Brady rounds out the top five with a rating of 54, sitting just behind Joaquin Buckley's 55. Brady, ranked seventh at welterweight with a 19-2-0 record, is known for his grappling pressure — he averages 3.53 takedowns per 15 minutes, the highest takedown output among the verified fighters on the card.
Why it matters
- The rating system gives fans and analysts a new data point for evaluating schedule difficulty rather than raw win-loss records.
- Strickland's top score of 74 reflects a championship-level slate of recent opponents, reinforcing his standing at 185 pounds.
- The wide gap between the top scores and the lowest-rated fighters on the card — Baisangur Susurkaev and Ozzy Diaz both sit at 4 — highlights how unevenly opponent quality can be distributed across a single event.
- Because the formula excludes non-UFC bouts, fighters with long records outside the promotion may score lower regardless of overall career quality.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
