Travis Bazzana hits his first major league homer in the Guardians' 6-4 win over the Twins
Travis Bazzana hits his first major league homer in Guardians' win over Twins
UFC 328 features a middleweight title fight between champion Khamzat Chimaev and former titleholder Sean Strickland. The event, taking place in Newark, New Jersey, has generated significant buzz due to the heated rivalry between the fighters.
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The time for talk is nearly over. UFC 328 is set to showcase one of the more heated rivalries in recent memory, when middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev defends his crown against former titleholder Sean Strickland.
Itās been a volatile war of words in the build to Saturdayās fight night in Newark, New Jersey. The undefeated 15-0 Chimaev has been a force of nature throughout his career. Heās met by the brash and outspoken Strickland, with whom he has a brief gym history. It might not be the ārightā fight to make in the division, but it sure has generated the most buzz and interest, given the genuine hostility thatās formed between both.
At flyweight, champion Joshua Van makes his first appearance since dethroning Alexandre Pantoja via freak injury just seconds into their 2025 clash. Heāll be tested against Japanese superstar Tatsuro Taira in a thrilling battle between some of the best young talent the sport has to offer.
Funnily enough, itās arguable that neither of the two title fights at UFC 328 are the matchups that shouldāve been made in their respective divisions. With that in consideration, it hurts UFC 328ās grade ever so slightly. But itās still a very good card.
š UFC 328ās lineup Crown grade: B+. š
Betting odds via BetMGM.

The main event for UFC 328 is a middleweight title fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.
Khamzat Chimaev has an undefeated record of 15-0, showcasing his dominance in the octagon.
The rivalry is marked by a volatile exchange of words and a brief gym history, adding tension to their upcoming fight.
Joshua Van is fighting Japanese superstar Tatsuro Taira in a flyweight title match at UFC 328.
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(Hassan Ahmad, Yahoo Sports)
Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland are ready to go at it after a heated pre-fight press conference.
(Ed Mulholland via Getty Images)
Chimaev has fallen into ālove or hateā territory after his dominant title fight effort against Dricus du Plessis. Regardless of whether you found the performance to be entertaining, the man remains one of the most impressive dominators MMA has ever seen.
Letās get the obvious out of the way: There is clear bad blood here, and that seems like a bigger point of contention on Stricklandās end. Weāve seen him flounder or flourish when getting emotional before fights ā his encounters with Israel Adesanya and du Plessis come to mind. Stricklandās jab-teep-heavy style never wavers much, unless you back down and allow him to dictate the pace firmly.
Unfortunately for him, Chimaev allows no one to do that.
Chimaev is the pressure. While Strickland has strong takedown defense, having stuffed 76% of his career attempts in the UFC, Chimaev has proven to be a one-of-a-kind mauler. And if MMA math says anything to you, du Plessis took Strickland down seven times across their two fights; Chimaev took du Plessis down 12 times in 25 minutes.
Now, Iām not an MMA math guy, so I donāt put much stock into it in the traditional sense. But du Plessisā grappling success is telling. Strickland really hasnāt fought many aggressive grapplers at middleweight ā like, at all. Even in his stellar win over Anthony Hernandez, Hernandez stunningly avoided his usual grappling approach, which cost him the fight.
Regardless, Chimaev is in his own category. From what Iāve heard about their training sessions at Xtreme Couture, Strickland bested Chimaev down the stretch. But how much stock can be put into anything that happens in the training room? Weāve heard those stories time and time again, and both men have had plenty of time to adjust since.
Either way, Chimaev canāt be bet against until he faces serious adversity, and Strickland traditionally doesnāt possess a lethal enough style to cause an epic stoppage. Making Chimaev angry and fired up may not play into the challengerās favor in any way he hoped.
Pick: Chimaev
The more you think about it, there are more parallels between UFC 328ās two title fights than meets the eye. At least in terms of a basic style expression.
Van is one of the most entertaining strikers to watch at present. The dude comes to scrap and scraps very well. No one who watched it live will ever forget the Brandon Royval classic. With Taira, you have perhaps the divisionās best grappler by a sizable margin, a man who innovates transitions rarely seen in an MMA enclosure. Once on top, heās trouble in every capacity.
Like Strickland, Van hasnāt quite fought anyone like Taira. The Japanese submission artist has sharpened his striking acumen with each fight, only further opening up his ability to drag the action to the mat. Despite that, this matchup remains fairly cut-and-dried.
Taira is proving to be more capable on the feet, but if it stays there, Van picks him apart like a surgeon. On the ground, Van is in a swimming pool with a shark who will bite his head off. Not to mention, Van suffered a fight-delaying injury mere weeks ago, when they were scheduled for UFC 327. I canāt imagine that helps his chances here. Taira is that dude.
Pick: Taira
Oh, the UFC heavyweight division. Why does Simon & Garfunkel always start playing when I see you pop up?
In all seriousness, this is one of the more legit contender fights we can ask for from the big boys in 2026. Waldo Cortes-Acosta has become āsomethingā in the division, which is good to see. But Alexander Volkov, while forgotten, hasnāt taken a noticeable back step. Swing his Ciryl Gane rematch split decision toward the correct outcome ā a win for Volkov ā and the Russian is on a six-fight win streak.
Sure, Volkovās win over Jailton Almeida in his last time out was cheeks, but that was more on Almeida, hence why heās no longer on the UFC roster.
Iāve said it once, and Iāll say it again: Volkov is a sniper of the highest degree at heavyweight. When he rattles off his combos with comfort, heās as precise and dangerous as youād expect a near-seven-foot human to be. Cortes-Acosta has the power in his hands to stop most heavyweight. Heāll just need to overcome Volkovās reach. At this point, the Russian just feels like the ultimate spoiler, which is oh-so-heavyweight for a division that desperately needs any shred of new life.
Pick: Volkov
Sean Brady seeks redemption after his tough loss to Michael Morales.
(Cooper Neill via Getty Images)
Between the heavyweight fight and this one, UFC 328 has two would-be Fight Night main events on it. Donāt deny it. You know itās true.
Joaquin Buckley was brutally exposed in his most recent fight against Kamaru Usman in Atlanta. Nearly one full year later, he has to overcome yet another wildly impressive wrestler in Sean Brady.
Unless Buckley has gone deep into the Caucasus Mountains to work exclusively on his wrestling, Iām not sold he can.
Brady is also looking to rebound here, after a tough first-round stoppage to the surging phenom Michael Morales. Buckley is a stark contrast to Morales in every way, but if that fight proved one thing, itās that Brady can be caught and might have a more questionable chin than most realized. Buckley packs power, thatās no secret. But like the top two fights at UFC 328, heāll need to keep Brady off of him. A grueling 15 minutes await.
Pick: Brady
Alright. I donāt usually flip-flop much when handing in my picks early for the staff picks above. But for this one, I did.
Sorry, Jeremy Stephens.
Though I do still find this matchup to be closer than perhaps the oddsmakers indicate, that recent King Green finish of Daniel Zellhuber is too much to overlook. And yes, Zellhuber may not be all he was cracked up to be, but itās still impressive for a veteran like Green.
Stephens hasnāt been very fortunate in MMA since returning to the UFC. See the Mason Jones fight, for example. He put on a banger of an effort, but the wrestling of Jones was just too much. Donāt expect Green to go for any takedowns here.
Now Iām just talking myself into picking Stephens again.
Iāll resist. Green is the cleaner technician of the two on the feet, always carrying himself with confidence, and, most importantly, heās trained consistently in MMA, whereas Stephens has been moonlighting in bare-knuckle boxing.
Pick: Green
Yaroslav Amosov vs. Joel Alvarez is an awesome fight. Like, Fight of the Night is written all over that one. Welcome to welterweight, Alvarez ā fereās your former Bellator champion challenge. Donāt miss it, folks.
Jim Miller continues to extend his UFC record for most fights. Thatās always fun. Meanwhile, Ateba Gautier is once again a massive favorite.
Top to bottom, the UFC 328 prelims have someone worth watching in every fight.
Quick picks: