Sean
Strickland once again stands alone at the top of the
mountain.
The Xtreme Couture mainstay reclaimed the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown, as he
dethroned Khamzat
Chimaev by five-round split decision in the
UFC 328 main event on Saturday at the Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey. All three members of the assigned judiciary
scored it 48-47: Sue Sanidad for Chimaev, Eric Colon and Sal
D’Amato for Strickland. The disdain and vitriol the two men had
shown toward one another in the lead up to the fight was nowhere to
be found once the cage door closed behind them.
Chimaev (15-1, 9-1 UFC) dominated the first round, where he
completed two takedowns, attached himself to the challenger’s back,
briefly achieved full mount and threatened the neck in the waning
seconds. However, he emerged for Round 2 in a diminished state for
reasons unknown. Strickland (31-7, 18-7 UFC) denied his bids for
takedowns, racked up points with his jab and forced the Chechen to
pull guard out of desperation. Chimaev did not attempt another
takedown until late in the fourth round, even as he seemed to
recover from whatever troubled him. A strategic battle, much of it
contested on the feet, ensued over the final 10 minutes. Chimaev
landed the heavier shots, but his busier counterpart connected with
more of them.
Meanwhile, Joshua Van
put away Tatsuro
Taira with punches to retain the undisputed UFC flyweight
championship in the fifth round of their co-headliner.
Finished for the first time as a pro, Taira (18-2, 8-2 UFC)
succumbed to blows 1:32 into Round 5.
Van (17-2, 10-1 UFC) navigated some choppy surf, especially early.
Taira delivered multiple takedowns and climbed to full mount on
more than one occasion, but his inability to marry those efforts
with damage proved costly. Van’s get-up game served him well, and
on the feet, he was light years ahead of the onetime Shooto
champion. He carved up Taira with blistering jabs, uppercuts and
straight rights. Damage accumulated on the challenger’s face,
zapped his reserves and set the table for his demise. Van let his
hands go to start the fifth round and hammered away with his jab
before shifting his sights to the body with vicious hooks from both
hands. Taira eventually turned away from contact, resulting in the
stoppage.
The 24-year-old Van has rattled off seven straight victories.
Further down the main card, former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global
champion Alexander
Volkov stood his ground in the heavyweight line with a
unanimous decision over Waldo
Cortes-Acosta in their three-round heavyweight showcase. Scores
were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28—all for Volkov (40-11, 14-5 UFC).
Cortes-Acosta (17-3, 10-3 UFC) had issues with the Russian’s height
and reach. Volkov zeroed in on the inside and outside of the
Dominican’s lead leg with punishing kicks, mixed in jabs and
occasionally targeted the body. He also landed perhaps the most
significant strike of the fight in the second round, where he
wobbled Cortes-Acosta with a chopping overhand left. The tide
shifted across the final five minutes. Cortes-Acosta pressed
forward behind power punches and stout jabs, threw caution to the
wind and bloodied his 6-foot-7 counterpart’s nose with repeated
blows, only to see his rally fall short.
Volkov has posted six wins over his past seven assignments, a split
decision loss to Ciryl Gane
in December 2024 his only misstep.
Elsewhere, ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Sean Brady
outclassed Joaquin
Buckley and laid claim to a woefully one-sided unanimous
decision in their three-round welterweight attraction. All three
cageside judges turned in scorecards for Brady (19-2, 9-2 UFC):
30-25, 30-25 and 30-27.
Buckley (21-8, 11-6 UFC) could not stay on his feet, and once the
action spilled onto the mat, traffic only flowed one way. Brady
completed takedowns in all three rounds and transitioned between
half guard, side control and full mount, all while hunting kimuras,
keylocks and arm-triangles. The Daniel
Gracie-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt also made Buckley
pay for refusing to cooperate. Brady postured in full mount and cut
loose with elbows, punches and hammerfists, pairing his unshakable
control with sustained ground-and-pound. It was enough to net him
multiple 10-8 rounds.
Brady, 33, has won four of his past five bouts.
Finally, former King of the Cage champion King Green
continued his late-career renaissance and dismissed an overweight
Jeremy
Stephens with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
lightweight appetizer.
Stephens (29-23, 15-20 UFC) checked out 4:20 into Round 1, losing
for the third time in as many outings.
Green (35-17-1, 16-12-1 UFC) attacked the Iowa native with body
kicks, unorthodox jabs and crisp combinations from odd angles. He
surprised Stephens with a takedown, set up shop in top position and
unleashed a hellacious barrage of elbow-laced ground-and-pound.
Green eventually forced the Xtreme Couture rep to turn away from
contact, snaked his arms in place for the choke and closed it
out.
It was Green’s first rear-naked choke submission victory since Feb.
2, 2013, when he victimized Jacob
Volkmann at UFC 156.
Continue Reading »
UFC 328 Prelims: Yaroslav Amosov, Grant Dawson, Jim Miller,
Baisangur Susurkaev nail down submissions on undercard