UFC 328 Predictions: Khamzat vs. Strickland Could Be 2026’s Best Fight

The combat sports world has two weeks to sit with its UFC 328 predictions, and if you were watching Ringside Report MMA on Thursday night, you already know this card has the potential to be the most explosive pay-per-view of 2026. Dave Simon and AJ D’Alesio dedicated the show to breaking down a middleweight title fight — Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland — that both hosts called their most anticipated matchup of the year, a fight that headlines a card so stacked it would be unfair to call any single bout the main attraction. Before getting to UFC 328, though, there was Winnipeg business that demanded attention first.

UFC Fight Night Winnipeg got swallowed by WrestleMania weekend, and that’s a crime. Mike Malott delivered a TKO victory over Gilbert Burns in the main event — a former top welterweight title contender — and announced himself as a legitimate division threat in front of a raucous Canadian crowd. Burns retired after the fight, closing the chapter on a decorated welterweight career. Charles Jourdain picked up his fourth consecutive fight night bonus. And then someone on the UFC’s staff decided to strip a flag from Malott’s hands mid-celebration, generating the kind of controversy that follows a promotion for months. There is a lot to unpack from Winnipeg, and this column is going to do exactly that before making the case for why UFC 328 predictions need to be on every MMA fan’s radar starting now.

One more item on the plate: this Saturday’s Apex card features Youssef Zalal vs. Aljamaine Sterling in the main event — a genuine test for a rising featherweight contender against a former champion with something to prove — plus a parlay card from both Dave and AJ with real money behind it. Here is everything you need to know.

Mike Malott Serves Notice: That Win Over Burns Changes Everything

There is no diplomatic way to frame what Mike Malott did to Gilbert Burns in Winnipeg. He dominated a fighter who, not long ago, was one fight away from the welterweight championship. Burns was a credible threat at the elite level of the division — a black belt in jiu-jitsu under André Pederneiras, a former 170-pound title challenger, a guy who pushed Kamaru Usman to the edge. Malott finished him. The stoppage was clean, the performance was convincing, and the win means something real.

“Mike Malott is a beast. This kid is something. The way he beat down on Burns was insane. Mike Malott is on his way up. This guy is someone to watch out for.” — AJ D’Alesio, Ringside Report MMA

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Malott is now on a four-fight win streak inside the UFC, with victories over Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns as the headline names. He’s 34, which, in fighter years, isn’t young, but he doesn’t fight like a man running out of time. He fights like a man who finally figured it out — calm, collected, with a finishing instinct that kicks in the moment he smells blood. The Neils Magny loss in 2024 looked like a derailment at the time. In hindsight, it was a reset. Four fights later, he’s the story of the Canadian MMA scene.

The question now is what comes next. At welterweight, the top 15 is loaded with compelling matchups. Dave floated Michael “Venom” Page — ranked 12th, recently active — as a name-value fight that makes sense given the proximity in rankings. He also noted that Gabriel Bonfim (ranked 10th) and Belal Muhammad (ranked 4th) are set to fight each other on June 6th, and the winner or loser of that bout could be a natural next opponent for Malott, depending on timing. There’s an argument for jumping him even higher — a fight against someone in the top five — because the resume now supports that conversation.

There is also the marketability factor, and the UFC understands this better than anyone. Malott is a marketable Canadian fighter who can draw for them in Canada. He’s entertaining, he finishes, and he fights in front of crowds that show up. That combination — talent plus marketability in a specific market — is exactly what the UFC looks for when it considers who gets the headline fights. If Malott stays healthy, a card in Canada with his name on top of the marquee is not far off.

Reality Check: The Flag Incident Was an Embarrassment the UFC Needs to Address

Someone employed by or affiliated with the UFC ripped the Canadian flag out of Mike Malott’s hands after his main event victory — in Winnipeg, Canada — while giving Malott what witnesses described as a “stink eye.” The UFC has offered no coherent explanation. Flags were flying at events the week before. Canadians paying to watch Canadian fighters in their own city watched one of those fighters get disrespected on his biggest night. The UFC has built an entire revenue stream on Canadian events and Canadian fans. Treating one of those fans’ heroes like this — with no comment, no accountability, no apology — is exactly the kind of organizational arrogance that erodes goodwill. Someone owes Mike Malott an explanation.

Charles Jourdain Is Building Something Real

Charles Jourdain is not ranked. That is the first thing to understand about where he is right now, and it is also the most important thing to understand about where he is going. Four consecutive fight night bonuses. Four consecutive finishes or performance rewards. A win over Kyler Phillips that showcased both his guillotine game and the relentlessness that has become his calling card. And now, ranked 11th in the featherweight division after his Winnipeg performance — a jump that AJ D’Alesio called “crazy” and “deserved” in the same breath.

“He’s like a Diaz. His fight was one of those fights where you’re like, who is this guy? He’s Canadian. Let’s keep an eye on this guy.” — AJ D’Alesio, Ringside Report MMA

The comparison to the Diaz brothers is not accidental. Jourdain fights with the same reckless entertaining quality — wheel kicks, tornado kicks, submission attempts at improbable moments, and a chin that refuses to give up when things get uncomfortable. His coach is Fábio Holanda, representing BTT (Brazilian Top Team), a jiu-jitsu lineage that shows up every time Jourdain goes for the guillotine. He went for it four times against Phillips in Winnipeg. Phillips survived. But the transitions, the grappling intelligence, and the relentlessness were all there.

At 11th in the featherweight rankings, the next fight matters enormously. Dave suggested a fight with someone in the top 15 — naming MVP (Michael “Venom” Page is a welterweight, so the show likely meant a featherweight equivalent), or possibly Raul Rosas Jr. or Montel Jackson as viable opponents who would represent a meaningful step up. Any of those fights, in front of a crowd, with Jourdain’s fighting style, could be a viral moment. The Canadian MMA pipeline is producing right now, and Jourdain is one of its best advertisements.

This Saturday: Youssef Zalal vs. Aljamaine Sterling — Who Wins?

Saturday’s Apex card is not the UFC 328 main event, but it has real implications. The headliner is Youssef Zalal vs. Aljamaine Sterling — a fight where a rising featherweight contender meets a former two-division champion who still has elite-level skills and something left to prove. The odds have Zalal as the favorite at minus-130, with Sterling as a plus-100 underdog. Those numbers tell a story about how the market perceives the generational shift at Featherweight.

Dave Simon is taking the other side. “I’ve got faith in Aljamaine. I’m going Aljo for the win at plus 100. I think this is a big step up for Zalal.” The logic is sound — Sterling is 36, but he just beat Brian Ortega in August and looked sharp doing it. Ortega is not a soft touch. Zalal is dynamic and dangerous, a fighter who knocked out Josh Emmett in 30 seconds (though Emmett has since lost five of his last six, making that win look less impressive in retrospect). But Sterling’s wrestling and cage control have beaten better athletes than Zalal.

AJ is on Zalal, and specifically, AJ is on Zalal by decision, which he built into his parlay as a specific method pick at plus-170. “He’s a technical kickboxer with a three-inch reach advantage. I think he’s coming in hot and wild for real.”

Also on the card: Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida vs. Ryan Spann at light heavyweight (a classic grappler-versus-striker matchup that should deliver a finish one way or the other), and Norma Dumont, who enters on a six-fight winning streak, taking on Joselyne Edwards in women’s featherweight action. Dumont is a heavy favorite at minus-225, and both hosts agree she wins.

UFC 328 Predictions: This Is the Card You Block Your Calendar For

Two weeks from now, UFC 328 lands, and the UFC 328 predictions conversation is already running hot. The headline fight — Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland for the middleweight championship — is as compelling a main event as the UFC has put together in 2026. These two men have history, contrasting styles, and the kind of combustible personalities that make every press conference a separate entertainment event. Dave Simon called it his most anticipated fight of the year without hesitation, and from a pure style matchup standpoint, the argument is hard to counter.

Chimaev is the most physically dominant middleweight in the UFC — a wrestler with elite-level finishing ability and the kind of in-cage presence that has made opponents wilt before the first punch is thrown. Strickland is a pressure fighter with elite boxing, a chin that has absorbed punishment from the best in the world, and a psychological warfare game that has destabilized better opponents than he should have beaten on paper. The matchup is genuinely unpredictable, which is rare in combat sports.

Below the main event, the card continues to deliver. Joshua Van defends the flyweight championship against Tatsuro Taira, keeping the 125-pound division in the spotlight. Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley was originally slated to headline a separate Fight Night before being moved to this pay-per-view card — a decision that, as Dave noted, makes UFC 328 even more stacked. Brady is a welterweight contender with elite grappling; Buckley is one of the most explosive finishers in the division. That fight alone would justify tuning in. Khamzat Chimaev headlines a card that also includes Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta at heavyweight and Bobby Green (going by “King” now) vs. Jeremy Stephens, bringing legitimate bad blood energy at lightweight.

The prelims feature Joel Álvarez vs. Yaroslav Amosov, and what sounds like a significant hype pick in a fighter AJ mentioned with considerable enthusiasm. For now, the story is the main card — one of the most complete top-to-bottom pay-per-view lineups of the year.

“This is gonna be hot and wild and the popcorn ready. This is gonna be sick. Best fight of the year so far.” — Dave Simon, Ringside Report MMA

For those tracking the welterweight title picture: this card also matters for Mike Malott. Whoever emerges from the Bonfim-Muhammad fight in June, and whoever the UFC slots in for Malott’s next outing, the trajectory is toward a title shot if the wins keep coming. The Winnipeg main event performance was the kind of night that accelerates careers. Pay attention to where the UFC puts Malott next — it will tell you everything about how seriously they’re taking his run.

This Weekend’s Parlay Picks: AJ’s Four-Leg Special vs. Dave’s Conservative Double

Both hosts built parlays for Saturday’s Apex card. Here they are in full.

AJ’s parlay is the high-risk, high-reward play — the Buchecha by submission leg at plus-175 is the wild card, but the logic is defensible: if Buchecha gets Spann to the ground, an ADCC-caliber grappler against a striker is a legitimate submission threat. Dave’s two-legger is the responsible, elder-statesman approach: take the value on Aljo at even money, stack Dumont, who is a clear favorite, and collect a modest return. Neither is a guaranteed winner. That’s the point.

You can track your own action at bet99.ringsidereport.net.

Sidebar: The Hulk Hogan Netflix Documentary and the WrestleMania 42 Crossover

Thursday nights on Ringside Report MMA occasionally drift into wrestling territory, and this week’s diversion was worth noting. Dave Simon reviewed the new four-part Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary — released the day before the show — and delivered a verdict that anyone who grew up watching Hogan will find resonant: it’s genuinely great television. The doc features footage from Hogan’s funeral, final interviews with the Hulkster himself, and commentary from figures including Triple H, Werner Herzog, Donald Trump, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Brian Blair, Jimmy Hart, and Eric Bischoff. Vince McMahon is conspicuously absent, a detail that requires no further explanation given the circumstances.

Dave’s take on Hogan’s legacy is nuanced in the way only a genuine fan can manage: “I love him. I started watching because of Hogan. He got me into pro wrestling. Watching the documentary, you know — he talked about a night in Montreal after he’d wrestled the Rock at WrestleMania in one of the greatest matches of all time. The next night he’s in Montreal, and the ovation he got touched him. It was 30 minutes. I remember being there. I was one of those fans going wild for Hulk Hogan that night.”

On the WrestleMania 42 front — relevant because the show taped the night before — Dave and AJ discussed Roman Reigns winning the title, CM Punk’s performance in defeat, Brock Lesnar’s emotional retirement, and Cody Rhodes’ ongoing case as one of the most important figures in modern wrestling history. The full breakdown lives in the Wrestling Uncensored WrestleMania 42 analysis, but the short version: Dave wanted Punk to win, expected Roman would, and believes Cody Rhodes is generational in a way that doesn’t get enough credit from the people criticizing him. None of this is relevant to UFC 328 predictions — except that it’s all combat sports, all intertwined, and the Ringside Report audience gets all of it in one place.

The Bottom Line

Mike Malott is the real deal. Charles Jourdain is building something worth tracking. The flag incident needs an answer. Saturday’s card has legitimate gambling value if you trust AJ’s four-leg parlay instincts. And UFC 328 is shaping up to be the pay-per-view that defines the 2026 middleweight division. UFC 328 predictions are wide open right now — Khamzat vs. Strickland is the fight where nobody, genuinely, knows how it ends. That is the rarest thing in combat sports, and it’s two weeks away.

Ringside Report MMA airs live every Thursday at 8 PM ET on YouTube, Rumble, Twitch, and all major platforms. For background on Sean Strickland’s recent form and the full welterweight rankings breakdown, visit ringsidereport.net.