UFC 328 press conference draws 210,000 live viewers on YouTube

The UFC 328 pre-fight press conference drew 210,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube on May 8, placing it among the most-watched events of its kind in the promotion's history and underscoring the massive appetite surrounding the upcoming middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev.

The viewership figure ranks in the top five all-time for UFC press conference live streams and stands as the highest ever recorded for a press conference that did not feature Conor McGregor. The all-time record belongs to the UFC 229 build-up, when Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor drew 505,000 live viewers. McGregor's press conferences against Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz also rank above the 210,000 mark, leaving the Strickland-Chimaev event as the benchmark for non-McGregor cards.

Strickland, 35, enters as the reigning middleweight champion carrying a record of 31-7-0. The American southpaw out of Xtreme Couture stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and is one of the division's most active strikers, averaging 6.04 significant strikes per minute across his career.

Chimaev, 32, arrives as the division's top-ranked contender and sits tenth in the pound-for-pound rankings. The UAE-based Swede holds a record of 15-1-0 and brings a markedly different profile to the fight, averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and landing 60 percent of his significant strikes — an unusually high accuracy figure at the elite level.

Why it matters

• The 210,000 peak makes this the most-watched non-McGregor press conference in UFC streaming history, reflecting crossover interest in both fighters.
• A middleweight title is on the line, with Chimaev seeking to claim his first UFC championship after reaching the top of the divisional rankings.
• The contest pits Strickland's high-volume striking output against Chimaev's elite grappling and takedown volume, creating a sharply contrasting styles matchup.