In Newark's Prudential Center, the sport of mixed martial arts offered two visions of human striving on a single night: a young Peruvian fighter pausing the machinery of competition to ask the mother of his child to marry him, and a champion facing the ancient question of whether dominance, once established, can be sustained. UFC 328 gathered these threads — the tender and the brutal — into a single evening, reminding us that arenas built for combat are also, quietly, stages for the full range of what people carry into them.
UFC 328: Chimaev defends title vs. Strickland as Ochoa proposes in octagon
She was waiting for that moment.
Mark
What made Ochoa's proposal so striking to you?
Mimi
It was the contrast. He'd just won the biggest fight of his career, and instead of talking about it, he pivoted to something that mattered more to him. That's human. That's real.
Mark
And Chimaev—is he actually vulnerable, or is Cruz just being diplomatic?
Mimi
Cruz isn't being diplomatic. He's identifying a real pattern. Chimaev won by taking Du Plessis down 12 times. That's exhausting work. If Strickland can survive those takedowns and keep getting up, he forces Chimaev to work harder than he's ever had to.
Mark
So it's a gas tank fight?
Mimi
Exactly. Chimaev has never been tested that way. He's been dominant because he's been fresh. Strickland's job is to make him tired.
Mark
Do you think Strickland wins?
Mimi
I think it's the first real test Chimaev has faced. Whether Strickland can pass it—that's the question everyone showed up to answer.
Mark
What about Ochoa? Does his proposal change how we see him as a fighter?
Mimi
It doesn't change his record, but it shows you what he's fighting for. He's not fighting for legacy or money. He's fighting for his family. That matters.
El Pulso
- Khamzat Chimaev enters his first title defense carrying the weight of a historically dominant performance — 529 strikes, 12 takedowns, 21 minutes of control — and the pressure of proving it was not a ceiling but a floor.
- Sean Strickland arrives not as a long shot but as a precisely calibrated threat, his wrestling defense and high-volume striking designed to do the one thing Du Plessis could not: get back up, stay upright, and drain the champion's engine.
- Dominick Cruz's upset prediction crackles through the fight week atmosphere, shifting the narrative from coronation to contest and forcing observers to reckon with Chimaev's one acknowledged vulnerability — his gas tank.
- Flyweight Jose Ochoa, fresh from his first win in nearly a year, turned a post-fight interview into a marriage proposal, holding a ring to the camera and asking the mother of his child to marry him — and she said yes.
- A stacked card beneath the main event — Van versus Taira for the flyweight title, Volkov versus Cortes Acosta in the heavyweight division — ensures the night's stakes extend well beyond a single championship.
In Newark's Prudential Center, the sport of mixed martial arts offered two visions of human striving on a single night: a young Peruvian fighter pausing the machinery of competition to ask the mother of his child to marry him, and a champion facing the ancient question of whether dominance, once established, can be sustained. UFC 328 gathered these threads — the tender and the brutal — into a single evening, reminding us that arenas built for combat are also, quietly, stages for the full range of what people carry into them.
Jose Ochoa had just won the biggest fight of his career, dominating Clayton Carpenter at the Prudential Center in Newark. But standing in the octagon with Joe Rogan, microphone in hand, he waved off questions about the bout entirely. He held a ring up to the camera and, through a translator, asked the mother of his child to marry him. She was somewhere in the arena. Later backstage, he confirmed what the crowd had hoped: she said yes. For the 25-year-old Peruvian, it was also a return to form — his first win since a loss the previous July, lifting his UFC record to 2-2.
The night's central drama, however, belonged to the main event. Khamzat Chimaev was making his first middleweight title defense against Sean Strickland, a former champion who arrived with a specific blueprint for disruption. Chimaev had claimed the belt at UFC 319 with a performance that bordered on historic — 529 total strikes, 12 takedowns, over 21 minutes of control against an undefeated Dricus Du Plessis. The question was whether Strickland could offer something Du Plessis could not.
Dominik Cruz believed he could. The two-time champion argued that Strickland's wrestling defense and high-volume striking were precisely calibrated to frustrate a grappler like Chimaev. Australian lightweight Quillan Salkild stopped short of predicting an upset but agreed on the mechanism: if Strickland could scramble back to his feet repeatedly, the cumulative cost of chasing him might hollow out the champion's gas tank. A tired Chimaev, both men implied, would be a different fighter entirely.
The card extended well beyond the main event. Flyweight champion Joshua Van defended his title against third-ranked Tatsuro Taira, while Alexander Volkov and Waldo Cortes Acosta squared off in a heavyweight clash expected to produce the kind of striking exchanges that fill arenas. But the evening's defining question remained the one Cruz had posed: whether Chimaev's dominance was a permanent condition, or whether Strickland — relentless, seasoned, and built for exactly this kind of fight — could find the seam in it.
Jose Ochoa had just finished the biggest fight of his career. The flyweight had dominated Clayton Carpenter at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and the decision was his. But as he stood in the octagon with Joe Rogan, microphone in hand, Ochoa had something else on his mind entirely. He waved off questions about the fight itself. Instead, he held up a ring to the camera and, through a translator, asked the woman he'd been waiting to marry: "The mother of my child, do you wanna marry me?" She was somewhere in the arena. When Rogan asked if she was there, Ochoa nodded. Later, backstage, he confirmed what everyone wanted to know. "Yes, she said yes," he told MMA Fighting. "She was waiting for that moment." For the 25-year-old Peruvian, it was a return to form—his first win since a loss to Asu Almabayev the previous July. His UFC record now stands at 2-2.
The real drama of UFC 328, though, belonged to the main event. Khamzat Chimaev was making his first title defense as middleweight champion, facing Sean Strickland, a former champion himself. Chimaev had claimed the belt in August at UFC 319 with a performance so dominant it seemed almost cruel. Against Dricus Du Plessis, he landed 529 total strikes—a UFC record—and took his opponent down 12 times. He controlled the fight for more than 21 minutes. Du Plessis, undefeated until that night, had no answer. The question now was whether Strickland could fare better.
Dominik Cruz, a two-time UFC champion, thought he could. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Cruz laid out a case for the upset that surprised some observers. Yes, Chimaev was formidable. But Strickland, Cruz argued, possessed a specific skill set that could trouble the champion. "He's very, very well seasoned from his back to getting up," Cruz said. "It's just his game." Strickland's striking style, Cruz believed, was built to frustrate a wrestler. If anyone could keep Chimaev from establishing the kind of control he'd shown against Du Plessis, it was this American. "If there was a guy that could challenge Khamzat, this is the guy," Cruz concluded.
Quillan Salkild, an Australian lightweight on the rise, echoed part of Cruz's analysis while stopping short of predicting an upset. Salkild couldn't see anyone beating Chimaev at this stage of his career. But he agreed that Strickland would be difficult to keep grounded. The key, Salkild told Main Event's Fight Week program, would be what happened after the inevitable takedowns. "Getting takedowns is very hard on the gas tank," Salkild said. If Strickland could scramble back to his feet repeatedly and create enough chaos, he might wear down the champion. A tired Chimaev would be a vulnerable one.
The card itself was stacked beyond the main event. Joshua Van, the flyweight champion, would defend his crown against Tatsuro Taira, the third-ranked contender. In the heavyweight division, Alexander Volkov—ranked second—would face Waldo Cortes Acosta, ranked fourth, in a fight expected to deliver the kind of striking exchanges that draw crowds. But all eyes were on Chimaev and Strickland, on whether the champion's dominance would continue or whether Strickland could exploit the one vulnerability that seemed to matter: the gas tank of a wrestler who had never had to pace himself.
Citas Notables
The mother of my child, do you wanna marry me?— Jose Ochoa, via translator, during post-fight interview
If there was a guy that could challenge Khamzat, this is the guy.— Dominik Cruz, on Sean Strickland's chances against Chimaev
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