Sean Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship by defeating Hamzat Chimaev via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) at UFC 328. This marks Chimaev's first professional loss. The event also featured Alexander Volkov defeating Waldo Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision, Joshua Van stopping Tatsuro Taira by TKO in round 5, and Sean Brady defeating Joaquin Buckley unanimously. Other notable results included Bobby Green submitting Jeremy Stephens in round 1 and Yaroslav Amosov defeating Joel Alvarez by arm-triangle choke in round 2. The card featured multiple finishes including submissions from Grant Dawson and Jim Miller.
Sean Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship with a split-decision victory over Hamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026, with two judges scoring the bout 48-47 in his favor and one judge seeing it 47-48 for Chimaev.
Strickland, 35, out of Xtreme Couture, improves to 31-7 with the win and recaptures the 185-pound title. The six-foot-one American carries a 76-inch reach and is one of the most relentless volume strikers in the division, landing 6.04 significant strikes per minute at 42 percent accuracy. The split nature of the decision underscores just how competitive the five rounds were against a previously unbeaten opponent.
The result hands Chimaev the first professional loss of his career, a milestone outcome that reshapes the middleweight landscape heading into the second half of 2026.
In a flyweight title fight on the same card, champion Joshua Van defended his belt by stopping Tatsuro Taira via TKO in round five. Van, just 24 years old and fighting out of Myanmar, holds a 17-2 record and is one of the most accurate strikers in the UFC, landing 8.84 significant strikes per minute at a remarkable 56 percent accuracy. The finish reinforces his standing as one of the most dangerous champions in any division.
Bobby Green submitted Jeremy Stephens in the first round in another notable result. Stephens, the 40-year-old veteran from Iowa fighting out of Alliance MMA, holds a 29-23 record across a long career spanning multiple weight classes.
Why it matters
- Strickland's win restores the middleweight title to him and reignites the division's title picture after Chimaev's previously unblemished run
- Chimaev's first professional loss opens significant questions about his path back to contention
- Van's fifth-round TKO finish signals continued dominance at flyweight for one of the UFC's youngest champions
- The card delivered multiple finishes, including submissions from Grant Dawson, Jim Miller, and Bobby Green, pointing to a strong overall event
Saturday, May 9, 2026
