The logjam at the top of the UFC’s middleweight division has officially been cleared. After months of speculation that tested the patience of the entire division, the opponent for Khamzat Chimaev‘s first title defense is finally set. And it’s just one in a massive slate of nine main-event bouts, unveiled by Dana White hours ago, all leading to the White House event on June 14.

As per the announcement by the UFC CEO, Khamzat Chimaev will face Sean Strickland in his very first middleweight title defense at UFC 328. The event will take place on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Chimaev defeated Dricus du Plessis in August last year to win the title.

Meanwhile, Strickland is coming off a shocking yet dominant win over Anthony Hernandez last month. With the announcement of the Strickland matchup, the UFC has now officially snubbed the No. 2-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov, who was long considered the next likely opponent for the Chechen. The UFC 328 card will feature several other notable matchups.

Alexander Volkov will square off against Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the co-main event at heavyweight. The welterweight bout between Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley has also been added to the card. Jan Blachowicz will face Bogdan Guskov, while King Green will compete against Jeremy Stephens. The update for the Chimaev vs. Strickland bout comes alongside eight other main event bouts confirmed from April to June 14.

On April 4, Renato Moicano and Chris Duncan will headline UFC Fight Night 272 at the Meta Apex. In the lightweight bout, Moicano will look to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush. Duncan, meanwhile, will be looking to continue his four-fight win streak with a fifth.

Precisely a week after, on April 11, UFC 327 will bring fireworks to Miami with the Jiří Procházka vs Carlos Ulberg headliner for the vacant light heavyweight belt. Ulberg is on a nine-fight winning streak, and Procházka defeated Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. in his last two outings. The main event at Kaseya Center will determine the new 205 lbs king.

Seven days later, Gilbert Burns and Mike Malott will headline UFC Fight Night 273 in Winnipeg, Canada. While Burns is on a four-fight losing streak, Malott has won his last three fights after dropping a third-round KO loss to Neil Magny in January 2024. Further, we now know from Colby Covington‘s latest interview that the winner of his fight will be pitted against ‘Chaos’ sometime later this year.

April 25 will see Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal headline UFC Fight Night 274 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, as Sterling looks to continue his winning ways since losing to Movsar Evloev in December 2024. Youssef Zalal, on the other hand, is yet to lose a fight in his second run in the UFC.

On May 2 in Perth, Australia, Jack Della Maddalena will face Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Fight Night 275. This will be JDM’s first fight since losing his title to Islam Makhachev last year. Prates has the momentum on his side with two knockout wins over Geoff Neal and Leon Edwards. In the co-main, Beneil Dariush will face the rising Quillan Salkilld. Dariush was supposed to fight on UFC 327, but his opponent, Manuel Torres, pulled out with an injury.

This will be followed by the aforementioned UFC 328 a week later, featuring Chimaev vs. Strickland in Newark. The very next week, on May 16, the promotion returns to Meta Apex, with the Arnold Allen–Melquizael Costa UFC Fight Night 276 headliner. Allen dropped his third UFC loss in his last outing against Jean Silva in January. Meanwhile, Costa has been on a six-fight winning streak, becoming the first fighter to finish veteran Dan Ige in his last skirmish in February.

Hereafter, on May 30, UFC heads to Macau for the next Fight Night, where Song Yadong will take on Deiveson Figueiredo in the bantamweight main event. In this case, both fighters are coming off losses to Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov, respectively.

One week later, on June 6, a week before UFC Freedom 250 fights at the White House, the promotion will again return to the Meta Apex for Fight Night 278, which will be headlined by Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim in a welterweight bout. While Muhammad has suffered back-to-back losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Ian Garry, Bonfim has been in much better form, having won his last four fights. His last outing was against Randy Brown in November, which he won via second-round knockout.

Here’s a better look at the nine main event bouts announced by Dana White.

All nine main event fights, including Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland confirmed by Dana White

April 4: Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan, lightweights (Las Vegas)
Apr 11 (UFC 327): Jiří Procházka vs. Carlos Ulberg (Miami, FL)
Apr 18: Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott (Winnipeg, MB)
Apr 25: Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal (Las Vegas, NV)
May 2: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Carlos Prates (Perth, Australia)
May 9 (UFC 328): Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland (Newark, NJ)
May 16: Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa (Las Vegas, NV)
May 30: Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Macau, China)
June 6: Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim, welterweights (Las Vegas)

But before those events, the month of March will feature UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Vallejos on March 14 at Meta Apex, UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy on March 21 at O2 Arena in London, and UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer on March 28 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

It’s a star-studded lineup the UFC has managed to put together before their historic White House card in June. Which one excites you the most?