UFC 328 Headlines Newark Card Amid Escalating Fighter Animosity
Chimaev and Strickland prepare for title clash while heavyweight division remains in flux due to champion recovery
UFC 328 is scheduled to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with a main event featuring middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev making his first title defence against Sean Strickland. The co-main event sees flyweight champion Joshua Van defending his belt against contender Tatsuro Taira.
The event is highlighted by intense personal animosity between Chimaev and Strickland, which has escalated significantly from an incident at Extreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. During that incident, Strickland accused Chimaev of bullying sparring partners, a dispute that has since developed into threats of violence.
Consequently, the UFC has increased its security detail for the event due to the high tension between the fighters. Interactions between the two men are expected to be limited to Friday's ceremonial weigh-in, with further faceoffs restricted to prevent escalation.
Strickland, who is a 4-to-1 betting underdog against Chimaev, reportedly threatened to shoot Chimaev and his team if they confronted him during fight week. Chimaev enters the bout with an unbeaten record of 15-0, having won the middleweight title by defeating Dricus du Plessis in August of the previous year.
In the co-main event, Joshua Van, who won the flyweight title in December by knocking out Alexandre Pantoja, faces Tatsuro Taira. Taira, a native of Okinawa, Japan, enters as a slight betting favourite and is seeking to become the first Japanese-born fighter to win a UFC divisional title.
The heavyweight title picture remains uncertain due to champion Tom Aspinall's recovery from double eye surgery and the UFC's refusal to book Jon Jones. An interim heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira is scheduled for the White House in June, potentially opening opportunities for contenders like Alexander Volkov and Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
