According to Jogo Hoje, Dana White didn’t just sell a fight this week, he rewrote the UFC rivalry pecking order with a straight face. UFC 328 is set for Saturday, the 9th, in New Jersey (USA), and the main event is the middleweight strap on the line up to 83.9 kg. But the real headline? The rivalry history narrative is getting turbocharged by a public level of trash talk that’s already spilling out of the usual bounds.
The declaration that changed the hierarchy
At the UFC 328 media push, White looked at Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland and basically said the rivalry is already living in the UFC’s hierarchy of rivalries, placing it in his top-three of all time. Then, on another stage, he went even further, arguing the matchup belongs above the storied tension between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
Now, as a tactical analyst, I’m not buying the “maybe he forgot” excuse. White knows exactly what he’s doing: when the encarada is hot enough to fog the cameras, the marketing machine turns it into a product. And UFC’s product is the octógono plus a story the crowd can chant before the first exchange.
Why Dana elevated Chimaev vs Strickland
Let’s be blunt: you can’t manufacture this kind of electricity on a whiteboard. Chimaev and Strickland haven’t even crossed paths yet, which is precisely why the promoção do evento is so combustible. The hostility is loud, the encarada is tense, and the trash talk isn’t just noise, it’s a signal of how badly both sides want to control the psychological lane.
From a fight-planning standpoint, that matters. Rivalries like this force fighters into clearer roles: one tries to bully pace and posture, the other tries to disrupt rhythm and confidence. When Dana White labels it a top-tier rivalidade histórica, he’s not just ranking vibes. He’s pointing at a dynamic that makes fight IQ and emotion collide inside the cage.
The historical weight of Jones x Cormier and McGregor x Khabib
Here’s the part that will keep fans arguing on buses and group chats all week. White said McGregor x Khabib sits above everything else in his mind, and he suggested Rashad Evans x Rampage Jackson as the third slot. But the shocker was where he placed Chimaev x Strickland relative to the Jones vs Cormier conversation.
Jones and Cormier weren’t just champions, they were a whole era of tactical chess—styles clashing, supremacy on the line, and a grudge that ran through press conferences like a live wire. So when White “bumps” them down, it’s not a neutral ranking. It’s an opinion that tells you the UFC is increasingly valuing modern, high-volume rivalry theater, especially when it drives buy-in for the cinturão dos médios fight itself.
What this says about UFC 328
UFC 328 isn’t just a title defense scenario; it’s a rivalry showdown staged at full volume. The timing of White’s comments—right in the final stretch of promotion—feels calculated. He’s amplifying the sense that the crowd will witness a collision, not a mere contest. And once the narrative is set, the fighters are almost trapped by it: they either deliver violence or they look like they couldn’t handle the hype.
That pressure can sharpen performances. It can also backfire. With this level of public animosity, you have to ask the question every veteran understands: will the emotion sharpen the decision-making, or will it drag them into careless exchanges that nobody’s game plan prepared for?
Risk, tension and narrative before the fight
The danger with rivalries at this temperature is that the story can outrun the technique. White himself acknowledged how heated it’s been, and you can feel the risk in every tense moment: escalation during the encarada, distractions before the walkout, and the very real possibility of ugly scenes around the final bell.
- Can Chimaev manage the mental noise and keep his structure intact inside the octógono?
- Can Strickland turn the pressure into a weapon, forcing mistakes through discomfort?
- Will the refereeing and corner discipline hold up if the trash talk turns physical?
Because if it goes sideways, it won’t just be a bad moment for one fighter. It becomes a stain on the whole rivalry arc—exactly what the UFC wants to avoid even while selling the chaos.
O Veredito Jogo Hoje
Here’s my take: Dana White didn’t “rate” rivalries—he priced them. Chimaev vs Strickland checks every marketing box the UFC loves right now: maximum trash talk, a wired encarada, and a fight-night story that starts long before the belt gets lifted. Calling it above Jones vs Cormier is controversial, sure, but it also tells you what the company believes will win the attention war in 2026. And in the UFC, attention is oxygen.
— Analyst at Jogo Hoje
Perguntas Frequentes
Why did Dana White place Chimaev vs Strickland in the UFC top tier of rivalries?
Because the rivalry has already produced peak public intensity: a tense staredown, heavy trash talk, and a rivalry story that sells the fight beyond the matchup itself. Dana framed it as a top-three rivalry based on the heat and what happened around the build-up.
Did Dana White really ignore Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier?
He didn’t erase their legacy, but he did rank the rivalry differently. White’s comments suggest he believes the modern rivalry atmosphere around Chimaev vs Strickland has more current impact—especially during the promotion for UFC 328.
What rivalry does Dana White consider the greatest of all time?
Dana White cited McGregor vs Khabib as his number one, and he suggested Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson as the third. He then placed Chimaev vs Strickland inside his top-three framework.
