At 9 am ET this morning, all 26 fighters who compete at UFC 328 on Saturday hit the scale for the official weigh-ins in Newark, New Jersey.
In the main event, middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev put his title on the line against former champion Sean Strickland. Also, flyweight champion Joshua Van makes his first title defense in the UFC. He takes on the talented Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event of the evening.
Intriguing Title Fights In Newark
Former champion Strickland was the first fighter on the scale in Newark. He weighed in at 185 pounds. Champion Chimaev took his time and came in as the final fighter to weigh in. With only twenty minutes to go, he also made weight at 185 pounds, which made the fight official for tomorrow. For Chimaev, the fight against Strickland will be his first title defense. Chimaev won the belt last year by dominating and defeating Dricus Du Plessis via unanimous decision.
Strickland will look to win the middleweight title for the second time in his career. The American fighter won his most recent fight this year by TKO against Anthony Hernandez and secured his title shot against Chimaev.
Flyweight title challenger Taira was the second guy on the scale. He weighed in at 125 pounds. After him, the champion Van hit the scale at the same amount of 125 pounds. Because of that, the fight was official for tomorrow at the Prudential Center. For Van, it will be his first title defense in the division. The fighter from Myanmar won the belt last December by beating Alexandre Pantoja via TKO in the first round. Pantoja injured himself early on during the fight.
Taira will challenge for the title for the very first time in the UFC. The popular Japanese fighter secured his title fight by beating former champion Brandon Moreno earlier this year via TKO in the second round. Taira can become the first Japanese champion in the UFC.
Jeremy Stephens Too Heavy
One fighter came in too heavy during the weigh-ins. Thirty-five-fight UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens hit the scale at 160 pounds. Four pounds over the lightweight limit. He forfeits 30% of his purse to his opponent. For Stephens, it is his second fight since his comeback to the UFC. He lost his most recent bout against Mason Jones via unanimous decision.
Check Here All Weigh-In Results
Main Card
- Khamzat Chimaev (185) vs. Sean Strickland (185)
- Joshua Van (125) vs. Tatsuro Taira (125)
- Alexander Volkov (257) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (264)
- Sean Brady (170) vs. Joaquin Buckley (170)
- King Green (155) vs. Jeremy Stephens (160)*
Preliminary Card
- Ateba Gautier (185) vs. Ozzy Diaz (186)
- Joel Alvarez (170) vs. Yaroslav Amosov (170)
- Grant Dawson (156) vs. Mateusz Rebecki (156)
- Jim Miller (155) vs. Jared Gordon (156)
Early Preliminary Card
- Roman Kopylov (185) vs. Marco Tulio (186)
- Pat Sabatini (145) vs. William Gomis (145)
- Baisangur Susurkaev (186) vs. Djorden Santos (186)
- Clayton Carpenter (126) vs. Jose Ochoa (125)
The UFC 328 event will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The early prelims start at 5 pm ET, followed by the prelims at 7 pm ET. The main card starts at 9 pm ET. The whole card is live on Paramount+.
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