UFC 328: Expert picks for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland

Khamzat Chimaev goes for his first protection of the UFC middleweight championship when he takes on former titleholder Sean Strickland in the primary occasion at UFC 328 on the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday.

Chimaev, who beat Dricus du Plessis to say the belt at UFC 319 final August, is unbeaten in skilled MMA and is ESPN’s No. 5-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. Each of his previous three victories has come over a former UFC champion (Kamaru Usman, Robert Whittaker and Du Plessis).

Strickland, No. 4 in ESPN’s middleweight rankings, enters the battle following a third-round TKO win over Anthony Hernandez in February. This might be his fourth middleweight championship battle. I’ve beat Israel Adesanya to earn the belt at UFC 293 in September 2023, then misplaced his subsequent two title fights to Du Plessis in 2024 and 2025.

A panel of three former UFC fighters presents picks and perception for the UFC 328 essential occasion.

Middleweight title battle

Expert takes

I’m fairly assured Khamzat will get it achieved towards Sean. I do not assume Sean can cease Chimaev’s takedowns; no one else has. Sean has respectable takedown protection, however that is completely different. Sean’s footwork shouldn’t be the very best, and it must be nice to maintain Khamzat guessing. And to present himself an opportunity, he wants to remain off the fence by any means essential. Sean may be very heavy on the entrance foot. Those jabs and teep kicks are efficient, however they don’t seem to be devastating sufficient to alter a battle. — Dustin Poirier

I hate selecting towards Russian fighters — they at all times assume I’m mad at them — however I’m going to say Sean will get the win right here. Sean is best than his efficiency reveals generally, and this an enormous alternative in a battle that he referred to as for. I believe he can truly cease Khamzat’s wrestling.

Other Khamzat opponents have not been good at getting again up. Sean is a greater defensive grappler than Dricus du Plessis, whom Khamzat beat to say the title, and Strickland understands that the extra he makes Khamzat take him down, the extra he’ll put on Khamzat out. Sean’s jabs and entrance kicks ought to cease a few of the takedowns as properly. Khamzat is a unbelievable fighter, however in current fights, he has proven that he is very beatable. — Din Thomas

We’re going to see Sean examined in an space of ​​his sport we actually have not earlier than. MMA followers respect Strickland’s wrestling, however they are going off tales they’ve heard from the health club. We hear on a regular basis, “Sean is hard to take down,” however when have we seen it in his fights? Khamzat will check his wrestling, and I believe Sean will cross that check. Chimaev will get Strickland down — not with ease, however he’ll get Sean down. This matchup will get fascinating within the later rounds, because it will get tougher to take Sean down and he jumps again up as soon as he’s down. But in the end, I believe Khamzat will get the win — in all probability three rounds to 2. Decisive, however not a shutout. — Michael Chiesa