The UFC was in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday for a solid UFC 328 fight card that saw two titles on the line. The main event saw Khamzat Chimaev defending his middleweight title against Sean Strickland. The co-main event saw Joshua Van putting his flyweight title on the line against Tatsuro Taira.
In the end, it was Strickland who edged out a split decision to pull off a massive upset. Van, meanwhile, scored a TKO win over Taira to defend his flyweight title for the first time. Following UFC 328, here is what I think should be next for the stars of the event.
Sean Strickland
Sean Strickland entered UFC 328 as a massive underdog, but he fought well. Strickland was able to get back to his feet when he was taken down and was able to land more strikes on the feet.
Although Chimaev would be worthy of an immediate rematch, he said he plans on going up to 205lbs. So, a logical next fight is to rematch Nassourdine Imavov, who’s the clear-cut No. 1 contender. It’s a fight that can happen sometime in the fall and headline a numbered card.
Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev suffered his first career loss as he dropped a split decision to Strickland at UFC 328. Chimaev had moments, but the judges felt like Strickland did more to get the win.
After the loss, Chimaev announced he’d be moving up to light heavyweight, as the weight cut to 185lbs became tough for him to deal with. A logical next fight is to face Paulo Costa, who also moved up to light heavyweight, and the two have had a feud before. So, a main event fight makes a ton of sense in the coming months.
Joshua Van
Joshua Van remained the UFC’s flyweight champion with a stoppage win over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. Van had to go through some adversity, but took over in the later rounds to get the finish in the fifth round.
With the win, Van’s next fight should be a rematch against Alexandre Pantoja. Van won the belt against Pantoja due to an injury the Brazilian suffered seconds into the bout, so a rematch has to happen next.
Tatsuro Taira
Tatsuro Taira was looking to become the first Japanese UFC champion at UFC 328, but he fell short.
Despite the loss, Taira still remains a flyweight contender and will only need a win or two to get another crack at the belt. A logical next fight is to face the loser of Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi, which takes place in June.
What do you think should be next for the stars of UFC 328?