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Sean Strickland has recaptured the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound title, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision in a tense but professionally conducted bout at UFC 328 on Saturday.
The fight, held at the Prudential Centre before 17,783 fans, marked Strickland’s second reign as middleweight champion.
Two judges scored the fight 48-47 in favour of Strickland, while one scored it for Chimaev.
Despite weeks of fiery pre-fight trash talk — including Strickland’s controversial threats and Chimaev’s retaliatory comments — the fighters remained professional inside the cage, touching gloves before the first round.
Strickland, 35, who initially won the 185-pound belt in September 2023 but lost it in his first defence, mimed placing the belt around his waist after the fight, with Chimaev helping secure the new title.
Post-fight, Strickland apologised to fans for his offensive pre-fight remarks, acknowledging that he “went too hard” in leveraging stereotypes to hype the matchup.
UFC had significantly increased security at hotels, public events, and the venue after Strickland’s threats, which included labelling Chimaev a “terrorist” due to alleged ties to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Chimaev, who fought under the UAE banner, suffered his first professional defeat after a 16-fight winning streak.
In the co-main event, Joshua Van successfully defended his UFC 125-pound flyweight title, defeating Tatsuro Taira via stoppage in the fifth round.
The bout marked the first UFC title fight contested entirely between fighters born in the 2000s.
In other notable results, Sean Brady earned a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley.
Alexander Volkov defeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision.
On the undercard, UFC veteran Jim Miller returned to action after a 13-month hiatus following his teenage son’s battle with rhabdomyosarcoma.
Miller, 42, submitted Jared Gordon with a first-round rear-naked choke, extending his UFC career totals to 28 wins and 20 finishes — the second-most in UFC history.
“My son went through some really difficult times,” Miller said after the fight.
“He’s cancer-free today. One of the things I told him was that Millers have been called a lot of names, but fragile’s never one of them. He fought his way through it.”
The event, the final major UFC card before its June 14 White House show commemorating President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and the nation’s 250th anniversary, delivered both title drama and emotional storylines for fans in Newark.
