Sean Strickland and the Real Winners, Losers and Results from UFC 328
He won it impressively enough. But can he keep it?
That was the question to be answered by UFC middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev, who headed to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to risk the strap for the first time against former 185-pound champion Sean Strickland.
Chimaev had shown nearly no signs of vulnerability in nine fights with the promotion, winning six times inside the distance and pitching a brutal five-round shutout in dethroning Dricus Du Plessis last summer in Chicago.
Strickland, meanwhile, had 24 octagonal fights since arriving in 2014 and reigned for four months, bridging 2023 into 2024 after a surprise win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. He lost to Du Plessis in his first defense at UFC 297 and had won two of three since, including a TKO of Anthony Hernandez in February.
The middleweight clash topped a 13-bout card, and B/R's combat team was in place to deliver a definitive, real-time list of the show's winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
Loser: Retaining Status
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We asked the question. Now we have the answer.
No, though he looked almost unbeatable on an eight-fight run prior to winning the middleweight title last August, Chimaev could not keep it when challenged.
Instead, Strickland executed his plan of surviving the Chechen's early onslaught, frustrating and bloodied the champion with a consistent jab in the second and third rounds, then landed more meaningful strikes down the stretch to earn a razor-thin split decision.
All three judges scored it 3-2, with two going in Strickland's direction in the fifth round after all three had it dead even at 2-2 through four.
The win makes Strickland the second two-time champion in middleweight history after Israel Adesanya, who beat Robert Whittaker and Alex Pereira to begin his reign.
Strickland ended Adesanya's second run with an upset win in September 2023, then overcame long betting odds to hand Chimaev his first career loss after 15 straight wins and nine in the UFC.
He landed 133 significant strikes to Chimaev's 98 and was never in real danger on the ground despite being taken down nine times and controlled for better than six minutes.
"He's a f--king savage," Strickland said. "That mother f—ker would not go back. He just keeps coming forward. Crazy. He may have broke my nose, but I'm happy."
Winner: Cementing the Claim
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Given the nature of his title-winning result five months ago, you may or may not have bought into Joshua Van's claim on the UFC flyweight championship.
But you probably do now.
The 24-year-old's chin, submission defense, and overall mettle were tested repeatedly across the first 20 minutes of his co-main event with No. 3 contender Tatsuro Taira, but the Myanmar native passed with flying colors and had enough in the tank left to surge to a TKO victory at 1:32 of the fifth round.
The win, his seventh in a row, gave Van the third-longest win streak in flyweight history and set up what'll presumably be a follow-up defense against the man from whom he took the title belt in December, Alexandre Pantoja.
And it came after a series of dramatic ebbs and flows that saw Taira score takedowns and chase submissions in the first round, before finding himself bloodied in the second and on the verge of a punch-induced stoppage by the end of the third.
Van was taken down as the challenger rallied in the fourth, but he shook off two takedown attempts early in the fifth and landed the series of shots that prompted Vitor Ribeiro's wave off.
"One of the greatest flyweight championship fights we have ever seen," blow-by-blow man Jon Anik said. "They'll be talking about that one for years to come."
Winner: Accentuating His Positives
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The more engagement Waldo Cortes Acosta asked for, the less he got.
Instead, towering Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov utilized every inch of a 6'7" frame to strafe his foe from distance—particularly with kicks to the Dominican's legs and body—and stayed safe enough to win a clear decision in a duel of top-tier contenders.
Two judges gave Volkov all three rounds and the third had him up, 2-1, as did the B/R card.
The verdict was greeted with boos from a crowd thirsty for the sort of action Cortes Acosta was craving every time he pointed to the center of the canvas to lure Volkov into a punching duel, but the second-ranked stylist never took the bait.
The winner landed 88 significant strikes to Cortes-Acosta's 54, including 43 to the legs and 23 to the body.
"It just wasn't an ideal range for Cortes Acosta to fight at," analyst Daniel Cormier said.
Winner: Working the Plan
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The strategy was clear.
Facing a proven, powerful striker in ninth-ranked welterweight Joaquin Buckley, Sean Brady knew his recipe for success was getting the fight to the ground.
So, he did. Early. Often. Decisively.
The Philadelphian shook off the funk from an early loss to Michael Morales six months ago, took Buckley down three times and controlled him for nearly eight minutes across the first two rounds and finished it with an even more dominant third for a wide decision win.
Two judges scored 30-25 and one had it 30-27 for Brady, who ran up career bests in landed strikes (245) and positional control time (12:09) and insisted the dominance warranted a rankings climb from his current position at No. 6.
"This camp I was locked the f--k in," Brady said. "No one's ever done that to Buckley. I deserve to be in the top five. I'm right back in this b-tch."
Loser: Lost Weekend
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Here's an understatement: Jeremy Stephens had a lousy weekend.
The 39-year-old missed a contracted 156-pound weight limit by four pounds on Friday, a misstep that cost him 30 percent of his fight purse. Then, barely two minutes into his match with King Green, he was hit with a low kick that prompted an 80-second delay.
Not surprisingly, it was all prelude to an even uglier finish for the 21-year pro, who was taken down after missing an overhand right and ultimately worked into position for the rear-naked choke to which he tapped out at 4:20 of the first round.
It was Stephens' ninth loss alongside a no-contest in his last 11 fights since a three-fight win streak that bridged 2017 into 2018. His only win in that stretch came via split decision over Myles Price in the PFL promotion in June 2022.
Stephens left the cage without comment after the loss to Green, but had already removed his gloves by the time the official result was announced.
As for Green, who has 12 losses in 29 UFC appearances, he followed the win by saying, "You can submit me, you can knock me out. But I'm like Michael Myers, you can't kill me."
Winner: Sudden Statement
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Just when it looked like the boogeyman was fading, he reemerged.
Middleweight power-hitter Ateba Gautier registered another sudden stoppage when the overhand right he landed on Ozzy Diaz crumpled the Californian to the mat and forced the hand of referee Gary Copeland at 1:10 of the second round.
The KO was his ninth in 11 career wins and fourth in five UFC victories since the start of 2025, tying him for the promotional lead.
The Cameroonian was effective but not overly menacing in the first five minutes, landing occasional strikes from distance and defending each of Diaz's three takedown attempts.
But just as it looked like he might get stretched to 15 minutes for the second straight fight following a decision over Andrey Pulyaev in January, his right hand landed on the left side of Diaz's head and prompted the 35-year-old's right leg to buckle underneath him.
"He did in the second what we expected him to do in the first," analyst Dustin Poirier said. "He stepped on the gas and put the guy away."
Winner: Telling the Secret
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Joe Rogan pointed out the lack of chatter about Yaroslav Amosov.
The Ukrainian welterweight arrived Saturday, having had just one UFC appearance following a prolonged stay in the Bellator promotion that yielded eight wins and a title claim.
But if the 32-year-old continues what he did against a streaking Joel Alvarez, the silence won't last too much longer.
Amosov validated the instant No. 14 ranking he'd received after finishing Neil Magny in December, controlling his foe on the ground for much of the first round and regaining position early in the second before securing the finish by arm triangle at 1:13.
Alvarez had arrived with four straight wins and eight in 10 fights.
"That was a statement," Rogan said. "This man really put on a show and showcased those extremely high-level skills."
Winner: Mettle Test
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It was all about geography.
When the lightweight bout between Grant Dawson and Mateusz Rębecki was in a stand-up setting, Dawson was frequently hit, hurt, and always on the verge of sudden disaster.
But when the fight was on the ground, it was no contest.
The 32-year-old Wisconsin native rebounded from a damaging second round and took advantage when Rębecki ill-advisedly initiated a grappling exchange in the third, quickly reversing position and working his way to the rear-naked choke that ended it at 4:42.
It was his 12th win in 15 UFC appearances and his fifth octagonal finish.
"When people think of me, they think I'm really skilled but not really tough," Dawson said. "And I wanted to show them that I'm really tough."
Winner: Jersey Strong
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The numbers keep adding up.
Jim Miller is already among the oldest fighters on the promotional roster—having made his debut in 2008—and the only one to have fought on the UFC 100, 200, and 300 shows.
And the 42-year-old New Jersey native kept things going on the prelim portion against fellow veteran Jared Gordon, seizing the New Yorker's neck after Gordon leaned in after catching a kick, then dragging him to the ground to lock in the guillotine choke that ended it at 3:29.
It extended Miller's record octagonal appearance total to 47 and his record win total to 28, while inching within one of Charles Oliveira's standard of 21 finishes.
Miller, who now has 20—including 14 by submission—beat Oliveira with a kneebar in 2010.
"I drilled that over and over and over again, so many times. Thousands of times," Miller said of the choke that finished Gordon. "It happens in my sleep. I knew I could keep that pressure on. And when he started to panic I knew I had him."
Winner: Power to the Rescue
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Roman Kopylov was on the verge of another disappointing result.
He'd been outworked through the better part of two rounds against Marco Tulio and was compromised by a jagged gash over his right eye that was obstructing his vision and sending a clear signal to the judges about which fighter was doing more damage.
Fortunately, though, he still had his punching power.
A two-punch combination ended with a left hand that sent the Brazilian tumbling to the floor with a minute left in the second round, and another hard volley early in the third changed perceptions enough to warrant a unanimous nod in the Russian's favor.
All three judges scored it 2-1 in his favor, matching the B/R card.
The win ended a two-fight skid for Kopylov, who arrived at the promotion as a 27-year-old and won six of seven across 40 months before the decision losses to ranked middleweights Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues.
Loser: Winning Ugly
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He's winning, but he may not be gaining traction.
Philadelphia featherweight Pat Sabatini won his fourth straight fight and his ninth in 11 UFC tries against William Gomis, but a crowd that began with "USA, USA" chants was reduced to restless groaning after 15 largely desultory minutes.
Each of Sabatini's last three wins has come by decision, and the latest was particularly tedious thanks to long stretches of grappling tie-ups along the fence.
The fighters landed just 23 significant strikes between them across the first two rounds, while Gomis successfully defended 11 of Sabatini's 13 takedown attempts.
It was more of the same down the stretch, and the winner ultimately converted three of 20 takedown tries and established better than 11 minutes of positional control time, while the final significant strike count was also 25-23 in his favor.
Two judges gave him all three rounds, matching B/R's card, and a third saw it 2-1.
Winner: Playing with Food
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He's a winner. But he can be maddening along the way.
Chimaev protégé Baisangur Susurkaev seemed content to talk trash and gesture mockingly toward Brazilian opponent Djorden Santos while winning the first two rounds, then cranked it up in the third round on the way to securing a finish.
The official time was 4:12.
Susurkaev was the busier and more effective fighter through 10 minutes, but was scraped around the right eye by Santos' accurate jabs and didn't register much tangible damage as his foe maintained a safe distance with a stand-up boxing style.
A decisive takedown came in the third, however, and Susurkaev quickly seized Santos' neck with his right arm and locked in the rear-naked choke that ended matters.
"He really does serve as his own harshest critic, but the kid can fight," Anik said. "A little but ugly early, but he found it late."
Loser: Prolonging the Mojo
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Clayton Carpenter could use a UFC wayback machine.
Now 29 years old, the Phoenix-based flyweight reached the UFC after five straight pro wins and a successful Contender Series debut, then found himself 2-0 in octagonal action after consecutive submissions of Juancamilo Ronderos and Lucas Rocha.
In the last 18 months, though, not so much.
Carpenter began 2025 with a decision loss to Tagir Ulanbekov in January, then was finished in October by a kimura courtesy of Jafel Filho. The skid reached three in Saturday's first bout when he was bloodied and comprehensively beaten over 15 minutes by Jose Ochoa, losing all three rounds on all three scorecards.
It was a second win in four UFC tries for Ochoa, who ticked up to 9-2 as a pro and earned a positive review from Rogan.
"(He) is just so pretty to watch," Rogan said. "He flows in and out. He's very good."
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Sean Strickland def. Khamzat Chimaev by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
Joshua Van def. Tatsuro Taira by TKO (punches), 1:32, Round 5
Alexander Volkov def. Waldo Cortes Acosta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sean Brady def. Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)
King Green def. Jeremy Stephens by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:20, Round 1
Preliminary Card
Ateba Gautier def. Ozzy Diaz by KO (punch), 1:10, Round 2
Yaroslav Amosov def. Joel Alvarez by submission (arm triangle), 1:13, Round 2
Grant Dawson def. Mateusz Rębecki by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:42, Round 3
Jim Miller def. Jared Gordon by submission (guillotine choke), 3:29, Round 1
Early Preliminary Card
Roman Kopylov def. Marco Tulio by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Pat Sabatini def. William Gomis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Baisangur Susurkaev def. Djorden Santos by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:12, Round 3
Jose Ochoa def. Clayton Carpenter by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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