UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev will return to the Octagon sooner than expected, and Nassourdine Imavov won’t be his opponent.
Khamzat Chimaev publicly teased a move to the light heavyweight division just months after winning the UFC middleweight title at UFC 319 over Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev, unbeaten in his professional MMA career, dominantly won the belt over Du Plessis in his latest 185-lb appearance.
The streaking Nassourdine Imavov was thought to be Chimaev’s next opponent after recent wins over Caio Borralho, Israel Adesanya, and other top contenders. Chimaev and Imavov briefly trained together earlier in their careers, and Chimaev repeatedly questioned fighting Imavov after their past training sessions.
The UFC is in full-throttle in announcing its Spring/Summer fight lineup, including the upcoming White House card featuring Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje. While Chimaev won’t fight on the White House card, he’ll defend the UFC middleweight belt against a former champion, despite many calling for Imavov to get the next title shot.
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland headlines UFC 328 after months of bad blood
UFC CEO Dana White announced on Thursday that Chimaev will fight former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland in the UFC 328 main event on May 9th in Newark, New Jersey. Strickland most recently defeated Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston earlier this year, stopping the latter’s impressive climb up the middleweight rankings.
It’s a surprising title shot for Strickland after a lopsided defeat to Du Plessis in their UFC 312 rematch last year. After two losses to Du Plessis, many speculated that Strickland would need to win several fights before making the case for another shot at the belt.
Strickland and Chimaev have traded barbs for months, including Strickland calling Chimaev a ‘terrorist’ and claiming he wore down the reigning middleweight champion during past sparring sessions at Xtreme Couture. After weeks of threats between the two middleweights, they’ll headline the UFC’s return to Newark in one of the biggest fights of the year.
White also announced the full main card for UFC 328, featuring the returns of Joaquin Buckley against Sean Brady, and former champion Jan Blachowicz against Bogdan Guskov. Lightweight legend Jeremy Stephens will return to the Octagon against Bobby Green to kick off the main card.
What is your early prediction for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland? Let us know in the comments!