Sean Strickland reclaimed the UFC middleweight belt on Sunday in the UFC 328 main event, surviving a brutal five-round war to edge Khamzat Chimaev by split decision in one of the most bitter title fights in years.
Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
After a back and forth battle in New Jersey, the judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 47-48 in favour of the American, giving the Russian the very first loss of his career.
The Prudential Center exploded when Bruce Buffer announced the scorecards and Strickland threw his hands in the air.
Chimaev put the belt around his opponent’s waist in what Joe Rogan called an “awesome display of sportsmanship”.
“I just want to apologize to my American fans, to my Muslim fans and my Chiristian fans,” Strickland said.
“I went too f**king hard. I’ll admit it. I respect all you guys.
“Chechnya has great fighters. They’re savage. He’s a f*cking savage. I should be a better f*cking example but I try to sell these fights for you f**kers.
“…I love you guys,” he told the crowd.
Chimaev started the fight with his usual speed and power, dominating Strickland with wrestling and forward pressure.
However, Strickland stayed composed and weathered the storm. In the second round he started to find the target with his strikes and even had Chimaev on his back after a failed takedown attempt.
“For Sean this is gigantic, his confidence will be through the roof,” Joe Rogan said in commentary.
Both men slugged it out in the third, with the Russian seemingly regaining his composure and landing the bigger shots.
By the fourth round, both men were bleeding as Strickland continued to score with his teep and straight punches while Chimaev mixed up his strikes and continued to press forward.
Both men touched gloves at the start of the final round, and Chimaev shot for a takedown moments later. Strickland wriggled out of it and the fight went back to a standing affair.
Strickland continued to score with his jab as the Russian walked him down, throwing shots of his own.
Chimaev tried for one final takedown but couldn’t secure it — and the pair reset and traded punches to the bell.
Daniel Cormier described the bout as “crazy” as the fighters hugged and looked to the judges scorecards.
The loss is a huge setback for Chimaev, who entered the bout as one of the UFC’s most terrifying and dominant fighters.
After the fight, Strickland paid respect to his Russian counterpart.
“That motherf**ker would not go back,” Strickland said.
“I’m hitting him with everything and he just keeps coming forward. Crazy.”
VAN’S FLYWEIGHT MASTERCLASS
Joshua Van, take a bow.
The 24-year-old Burmese superstar has retained his title with a stellar performance, showcasing his lightning-fast striking before securing a fifth-round TKO win over Tatsuro Taira.
In the second round, Van caught Taira with a huge right hand that dropped the Japanese star to the canvas.
He survived, but it was a huge moment in the fight which the challenger was left “hurt bad” according to Daniel Cormier.
“Joshua Van with a perfect right hand, he looked like he was out. Look at his head roll back,” Joe Rogan said.
From there, Taira looked to be struggling for the remainder of the bout and was left with blood pouring out of his face in the third.
He attempted a rear-naked choke but was unable to get the grip he needed, with Taira slipping out of his grasp.
“He’s so dangerous, my goodness,” Cormier said.
“Van has fought a perfect round.”
FOTY? Van TKO’s Taira in 5 round war | 00:42
Van continued to dominate until he secured a stoppage in the fifth round after another wave of punches, with Taira disputing the referee’s decision.
It was two body shots, followed by a huge right hand that left Taira reeling — while Van jumped up on the cage to celebrate his win.
“Taira is protesting the stoppage, but it was absolutely the right decision,” Rogan said.
As for Van’s next opponent, he called out Alexandre Pantoja for a second fight after the current title holder already beat him in December last year.
MILLER’S TIMELY VICTORY
Earlier on UFC 328, 42-year-old Jim Miller added another chapter to his amazing career with his 20th finish in the promotion.
He secured another submission win in front of his home crowd in New Jersey, celebrating accordingly on the octagon, saluting to the fans.
“Jim Miller does it again in his native New Jersey,” Jon Anik said.
While Daniel Cormier said: “He snapped that neck up real fast” after securing a victory by guillotine choke submission at 3:29 of the first round.
The win comes after his 14-year-old son Wyatt recovered from a rare cancer which targets soft tissue called rhabdomyosarcoma.
“My son went through some really difficult times in the last couple of months,” he said.
“He ended up kicking the s–t out of cancer, and he’s all good today. We are cancer free.
“And one of the things I told him when he was dealing with it when he first got diagnosed is Millers have been called a lot of names over the years, but fragile has never been one of them.”
Volkov declares himself next in line | 00:32
A UFC PROPOSAL?
UFC flyweight Jose Ochoa delivered one of the biggest results of his career on Sunday morning at UFC 328 – and then topped it off by proposing to his girlfriend at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Fresh off an excellent performance against Clayton Carpenter and claiming the decision victory, Ochoa waved off questions from Joe Rogan about the fight to drop the question.
Holding a ring up to the camera, it was clear what the 25-year-old Peruvian was doing despite the language barrier.
“I want to do something special for my soon-to-be wife,” he said via a translator.
“The mother of my child, do you wanna marry me?”
Rogan asked: “Is she here?”
Following the fight, media caught up with Ochoa backstage to ask if she accepted.
“Yes, she said yes,” Ochoa told MMA Fighting.
“She was waiting for that moment.”
It was Ochoa’s first win since going down to Asu Almabayev last July.
Ochoa is now 2-2 in the UFC.
LIVE BLOG
Follow along for the latest updates from UFC 328! Can’t see the blog? Click here!