Sean Strickland is once again on top of the middleweight division after defeating Khamzat Chimaev to capture the 185-pound title in the UFC 328 main event.
The championship clash headlined UFC 328 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where Strickland handed Chimaev the loss and walked away with the belt. With the result, Strickland now owns two of the biggest title-fight upsets in UFC history after dethroning both Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland’s resume at 185 pounds continues to grow, with victories over Chimaev, Adesanya, Nassourdine Imavov, Paulo Costa, Anthony Hernandez, and Brendan Allen among his key wins.
Jorge Masvidal recently praised Strickland’s body of work, saying, "Sean Strickland has to go down as a Hall of Famer, and is an all-time great," and pointing to his evolution after moving up from welterweight. "Let's take a little step back. Even before he got the belt, he's had some amazing performances throughout his career. He fought at 170, he was cutting a little too much weight."
Masvidal added, "He came up, he really started showing out, finishing guys, setting himself up for success. Separating himself from the pack by his fight style. He has a good finishing rate, and he's beaten a lot of up-and-coming guys, he beat a lot of established guys, and he beat a lot of guys he probably should have never beat."
