Chimaev Vs Strickland headlines UFC 328 title fight on May 9
Khamzat Chimaev puts his UFC middleweight title on the line against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9, 2026. The chimaev vs strickland main event tops a card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with a second championship bout sitting on the same lineup.
The main card starts at 9pm ET, after prelims at 7pm ET and early prelims at 5pm ET. For fans tracking the card live, the schedule is split across 5pm ET, 7pm ET, and 9pm ET start times, with the title action reserved for the late slate.
Prudential Center Main Event
Strickland enters as the former middleweight champion and the current No. 3 ranked contender. Chimaev, the UFC middleweight champion, is defending after putting together a 15-0 record, while Strickland’s side of the fight brings 30-7 experience into the cage.
The matchup gives UFC 328 a clear centerpiece. Chimaev and Strickland have the kind of ranking and title history that makes the main event the first fight most readers will circle, but the card does not stop there.
Joshua Van Joins The Top
Joshua Van defends the UFC flyweight title against No. 3 ranked contender Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event. That gives UFC 328 two championship fights on the same night, with the flyweight belt following the middleweight title defense on the main card.
Van’s place on the card matters because it adds another title result for fans to follow before the show leaves Newark. Taira gets his shot as the No. 3 contender, giving the co-main event its own ranking angle and another bout that could reshape its division.
Sean Brady And Volkov
The rest of the main card adds ranked fights in three weight classes. Sean Brady meets Joaquin Buckley in welterweight action, Alexander Volkov faces Waldo Cortes Acosta at heavyweight, and King Green is paired with Jeremy Stephens in a lightweight bout.
Brady is ranked No. 6, Buckley is No. 9, Volkov is No. 2, and Cortes Acosta is No. 4. Those numbers give UFC 328 a deeper main card than a single-title showcase, and they leave the winner of Chimaev-Strickland with one more layer of pressure: the night is built for movement across the divisions, not just one headline fight.
