Matchups to make after UFC 328: Where does Chimaev go from here?

UFC 328 has come and gone, and what an epic event it was.

In the headliner, Sean Strickland pulled off a major upset when he beat Khamzat Chimaev to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

The co-main event saw Joshua Van knock out Tatsuro Taira to defend the men’s flyweight title for the first time.

Plus, there were plenty of other standout performances on the undercard of what was one of the best fight cards so far in 2026.

With UFC 328 now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look ahead at what could be next for the card’s featured stars and top performers.

Sean Strickland: The American picked up a stunning upset win over Chimaev, as he won a split decision to become a two-time titleholder. It was an incredible fight and an amazing performance by Strickland, who defied the odds once again to win the promotion’s 185-pound title for the second time in his career, which could one day earn him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.

Due to how close the fight was, a rematch between Strickland and Chimaev makes sense. But Chimaev is likely moving up to 205 pounds, so running it back is probably off the table. Instead, Strickland will likely get a rematch with another fighter in Nassourdine Imavov, who Strickland beat in 2023 in a short-notice light-heavyweight bout. Imavov has won his last five fights in a row and he deserves a title shot, so this is the logical next fight to make.

Khamzat Chimaev: As for the now-former champ, the loss to Strickland was the first time in his MMA career that he tasted defeat. The Russian-born fighter now moves to 15-1 as a pro, and he might also be moving weight classes, as UFC president Dana White revealed following UFC 328 that Chimaev told him that he is moving up to light-heavyweight. It remains to be seen if that’s the case.

While a rematch with Strickland at UFC 328 could happen if Chimaev stays at middleweight, it’s unlikely Chimaev can even make 185 pounds anymore, so up in weight is in order. For his first bout in a new division, give him Paulo Costa, who recently made the move up to 205 himself with a knockout win over Azamat Murzakanov last month at UFC 327. Both Chimaev and Costa despise each other, and stylistically this would be an intriguing striker vs. grappler bout that would be the perfect title eliminator in the weight class for both of these former middleweight stars.

Joshua Van: The UFC flyweight champion proved he is currently the best in the world at 125 pounds with an emphatic fifth-round TKO win over Tatsuro Taira. When Van beat former champion Alexandre Pantoja in December at UFC 323 to claim the belt, there were many questions about him because the fight ended due to an injury Pantoja sustained. But those questions were surely answered last night when Van picked up an amazing, Fight of the Night-winning knockout of Taira.

For his next bout, let’s have Van run it back with Pantoja, who deserves a rematch after how the first fight ended. After all, the Brazilian was a longtime, dominant champion his freak arm injury, so it does seem fair that he gets the chance to fight Van and try to win his title back.

Tatsuro Taira: Although Taira lost to Van, it was still an incredible performance that showed he belongs in the elite of the division. He may not be the champion this morning, but he is $100,000 richer after winning the Fight of the Night bonus, and every UFC fan who watched this bout knows how much heart he has.

The loss to Van drops Taira’s stock somewhat, but not much, as he’s still a top-ranked contender. For his next bout, let’s give him the chance to avenge his loss to Brandon Royval from 2024. That was a split decision defeat in a close fight contested over five rounds that saw Taira lose for the first time in his career. Royval was actually in attendance at UFC 328, so he was there firsthand to see Van vs. Taira. Royval is also a past opponent of Van’s; they had a Fight of the Year contender last June that earned Van his title shot against Pantoja.

A rematch would be a ton of fun and make perfect sense as the main event of a UFC Fight Night card, perhaps even in Japan if the promotion goes back there.

Ateba Gautier: The 24-year-old Cameroon native remained undefeated in the UFC with a second-round TKO win over Ozzy Diaz. After settling for a decision in his last fight, Gautier got back to what he’s good at, which is knocking people out inside the Octagon. His UFC record now improves to 5-0 with four knockout wins.

Following the win over Diaz, Gautier used his post-fight interview to call out former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. While this could be a fun matchup, it seems unlikely Gautier will go from fighting unranked opposition to fighting a former champion next. 

Instead, let’s match up Gautier with Roman Kopylov, who earned a decision win over Marco Tulio on the undercard of UFC 328. This is a more sensible step up in competition, and it would be a fun fight between two strikers, so let’s get it booked.

Yaroslav Amosov: One of the standout performances at UFC 328 saw Yaroslav Amosov dominate Joel Alvarez en route to a second-round submission win. Amosov used his ground game to control Alvarez and then finish him with an arm-triangle choke to move 2-0 in the UFC, and likely earn himself the chance to fight someone in the top 10 at 170 pounds.

Given how impressive this performance was and the fact that the UFC brass gave him an extra $100,000 for Performance of the Night, there is no doubt Amosov is getting a big step up in competition for his next fight. On the main card, Sean Brady dominated Joaquin Buckley with his own ground game in a 30-25 rout. Now, let’s match up Amosov and Brady and see which welterweight has the better grappling, with the winner moving one step closer to the division’s elite.

Baisangur Susurkaev: The Russian prospect remained undefeated in his MMA career when he finished Djorden Santos via third-round submission. This fight didn’t come easy for Susurkaev, as Santos proved to be a worthy adversary, but in the end, Susurkaev won via stoppage to move to 3-0 in the UFC and 12-0 overall.

Susurkaev has looked good in the UFC so far, but he’s only 25, so there’s no need to rush him into the rankings. For his next bout, let’s give him Tresean Gore, who is coming off an impressive third-round submission win over Azamat Bekoev, putting together two middleweights coming off third-round finishes in what promises to be an action-packed fight.

Jose Ochoa: The first fight of the night saw Ochoa have an incredible performance in the flyweight division when he won a unanimous decision over Clayton Carpenter. Ochoa threw the kitchen sink at his opponent, connecting on 153 significant strikes and one knockdown as he earned a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards. He also had a viral moment when he asked his girlfriend in Brazil to marry him during his post-fight interview, which she later accepted.

Following that standout performance, you have to be excited for what’s next for Ochoa at 125 pounds. For his next bout, let’s give him a chance to break into the top-15 rankings. Steve Erceg, who beat Tim Elliott at UFC Perth at the beginning of the month, doesn’t have his next fight booked yet, so let’s match these two up in what would surely be an exciting standup striking battle.