UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland Preview: Full Fight Card Breakdown
Newark hosts the UFC's biggest card since January. Two title fights, a heavyweight eliminator, and one of the most anticipated personal rivalries in recent memory share the same PPV. Khamzat Chimaev defends the middleweight championship against Sean Strickland in a fight with genuine bad blood — their history as sparring partners has escalated into one of the more openly hostile pre-fight buildups of the year. Below that, Joshua Van makes his first real flyweight title defense against Tatsuro Taira, a card slot that carries a legitimate question mark over the champion's credentials after a 26-second title win. Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark is going to test everyone on the card.
Full Fight Card
| Fight | Weight Class | Card Section |
|---|---|---|
| Khamzat Chimaev (15-0) vs. Sean Strickland (30-7) | Middleweight Championship | Main Card |
| Joshua Van (16-2) vs. Tatsuro Taira (18-1) | Flyweight Championship | Main Card |
| Alexander Volkov (39-11) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-2) | Heavyweight | Main Card |
| Sean Brady (18-2) vs. Joaquin Buckley (22-7) | Welterweight | Main Card |
| Jeremy Stephens vs. King Green (34-17-1) | Lightweight | Main Card |
| Ateba Gautier (10-1) vs. Osman Diaz | Middleweight | Preliminary Card |
| Joel Álvarez vs. Yaroslav Amosov | Welterweight | Preliminary Card |
| Grant Dawson (23-3-1) vs. Mateusz Rębecki (20-4) | Lightweight | Preliminary Card |
| Jim Miller (38-19) vs. Jared Gordon (21-8) | Lightweight | Preliminary Card |
| Roman Kopylov (14-5) vs. Marco Tulio (14-2) | Middleweight | Early Prelims |
| Pat Sabatini (21-5) vs. William Gomis | Featherweight | Early Prelims |
| Clayton Carpenter (8-2) vs. Jose Ochoa (8-2) | Flyweight | Early Prelims |
| Bogdan Guskov vs. TBD | Light Heavyweight | Announced |
Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov was cancelled after Błachowicz suffered a torn meniscus. Daniel Santos vs. Choi Doo-ho was moved to a separate Fight Night card.
Main Event: Chimaev vs. Strickland — Middleweight Championship
There is history here that goes well beyond the belt. Chimaev and Strickland trained together before the rivalry soured, and fight week has required heavy UFC security presence after Strickland's pre-fight statements escalated in both tone and specificity. None of that changes how the fight itself is likely to unfold, but it does explain why the arena in Newark is going to be charged from the first bell.
Chimaev comes in undefeated at 15-0. He won the middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis — landing 12 takedowns across five rounds — and his recent opponents have all been former UFC champions: Usman, Whittaker, Du Plessis. His game plan is predictable in the same way that being dominant is predictable: close distance, reach the clinch, drag the fight to the mat, stay there until the judges have seen enough. He is around -350 at most books.
Strickland (30-7) earned this shot with a February 2026 TKO of Anthony Hernandez — his first stoppage win in three fights — and arrives as the most durable, highest-volume striker in the division. He works from a Philly-shell, uses the jab to disrupt entries, and has the cardio to push pace into rounds four and five. His takedown defense sits around 72 percent — workable against most middleweights, but Chimaev operates at a different level. Strickland's path to the belt runs through a grinding first round: force Chimaev to burn energy on failed shots, keep the fight in open space, and hope that the fatigue Chimaev showed late against Du Plessis compounds under sustained volume. It is not an impossible road, but it is a narrow one.
Co-Main Event: Van vs. Taira — Flyweight Championship
Joshua Van won the flyweight belt with a 26-second injury stoppage of Alexandre Pantoja — a finish that settled the vacancy but left the division without a real answer about the new champion's championship-level durability. Tatsuro Taira is the toughest possible test to answer that question. The Japanese grappler holds 52 percent historical control time in UFC competition, finished Brandon Moreno in round two, and averages nearly two submission attempts per 15 minutes. He is available around +150 at most books.
Van counters with the most prolific striking rate in flyweight history — nearly nine significant strikes per minute. If the fight stays standing, that pace makes Van extremely dangerous. If Taira can absorb the early volume and get Van to the mat, the champion's 26-second title defense provides limited evidence of what follows. This is the co-main event doing its job: a clear stylistic question, and both possible answers are compelling.
Volkov vs. Cortes-Acosta: Heavyweight Title Implications
Both men are ranked inside the heavyweight top four. The winner moves directly into championship contention; the loser has questions to answer. Volkov (39-11) is a technically precise counter-striker with an 80-inch reach — he works at range, maintains footwork, and makes big heavyweights look clumsy with his distance management. Cortes-Acosta (17-2) has finished his last three opponents, capped with a first-round knockout of Derrick Lewis. He is not here to lose a decision. A single well-timed punch changes this fight for either man, and neither has much margin for error against a ranked opponent.
Brady vs. Buckley: The Rescheduled Welterweight Bout
This fight was pulled from the UFC Vegas 116 card two weeks ago. It arrives here with the same stakes attached. Brady (18-2) is a BJJ black belt who submitted former champion Leon Edwards and held the division's most respected ground game — until Michael Morales finished him at UFC 322 and raised durability questions on the feet. Buckley (22-7) knocked out Colby Covington and Stephen Thompson during a six-fight streak before dropping a decision to Kamaru Usman. He has stated publicly that a loss here likely ends his UFC run. Brady's path is the mat; Buckley needs one clean power shot. Both men are entirely capable of ending the fight early, and neither can afford to be cautious.
Prelim Standouts
Former Bellator champion Yaroslav Amosov makes his UFC debut against Joel Álvarez in a welterweight grappling collision worth setting an alarm for. Amosov holds four world sambo titles and submitted Neil Magny on his promotional debut; Álvarez has 17 of his 23 wins by submission. Two elite ground specialists from different traditions colliding on the preliminary card — the kind of fight where the best moment might come from somewhere the crowd does not see coming.
Jim Miller fights on familiar ground: Newark is home turf, where he holds UFC records for both lightweight appearances and wins. Jared Gordon is a tough matchup, a BJJ black belt with real right-hand power who is rebuilding after a TKO loss to Rafa Garcia. Miller at 38 years old in front of a New Jersey crowd has delivered before.
Jeremy Stephens returns to the UFC main card for the first time in four years after competing in BKFC. He is tied for the most losses in UFC history — a defeat Saturday would make him the sole record holder. King Green arrives on a two-fight finishing streak and nearly double the documented striking output of his opponent. The fight will likely hinge on whether Stephens lands something early before Green's pace takes over.