The main event for UFC 328 has been confirmed, with Khamzat Chimaev set to defend his middleweight title against former champion Sean Strickland. The event takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 9.
The promotion announced the championship showdown alongside other bouts featured on the UFC 328 card, as well as several main events scheduled across upcoming events.
Undefeated 31-year-old Chimaev (15-0) claimed the title in August, dethroning Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319.
35-year-old Strickland (30-7) comes off a third-round stoppage victory over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston in February.
Also confirmed for the UFC 328 card:
- Alexander Volkov (39-11) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (17-2), heavyweight
- Sean Brady (18-2) vs. Joaquin Buckley (21-7), welterweight
- Jan Blachowicz (29-11-2) vs. Bogdan Guskov (18-3-1), light heavyweight
- Jeremy Stephens (29-22) vs. King Green (34-17-1), lightweight
- Ateba Gautier (10-1) vs. Osman Diaz (10-3), middleweight
Other confirmed fights:
- A featherweight bout between former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (25-5-0) and Youssef Zalal (18-5-1) headlines UFC Vegas 116 on April 25. This event was previously set to feature Brady vs Buckley, which has been moved to UFC 328.
- A lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush (23-7-1) and Quillan Salkilld (11-1) has been set as the co-main event of UFC Perth on May 2.
- The main event of UFC Vegas 117 on May 16 is a featherweight battle between Arnold Allen (20-4) and Melquizael Costa (26-7).
- Bantamweights Song Yadong (22-9-1) and Deiveson Figueiredo (25-6-1) clash in the main event of UFC Macau on May 30. Also official for the card are a light heavyweight bout between Zhang Mingyang (19-7) and Alonzo Menifield (17-6-1), and a heavyweight contest between Sergei Pavlovich (20-3) and Tallison Teixeira (9-1).
- The welterweight bout between former champion Belal Muhammad (24-5) and Gabriel Bonfim (19-1) headlines UFC Vegas 118 on June 6.
The multi-fight announcement follows a recently revealed card for UFC Freedom 250, scheduled to take place at the White House on June 14.