Despite his spectacular UFC 319 victory, somewhere Khamzat Chimaev is likely kicking himself after missing out on a historic Octagon record.
Afforded his premiere title fight in the promotion, unbeaten star Khamzat Chimaev did not disappoint in the slightest.
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Paired with the dominant Dricus du Plessis, Chechen star Chimaev rode out a wholly one-sided unanimous decision win to land the middleweight crown over the course of five gruelling rounds for the South African.
Finding himself on the receiving end of a staggering 12 successful takedowns, du Plessis had no answers for Chimaev’s grappling and top control.
Landing himself in the history books with his win, nevertheless, Chimaev is likely unhappy that he has not found himself on that first page of that particular publication.
Khamzat Chimaev just missed out on a historic UFC record
Finding himself on the receiving end of just one successful takedown by Pretoria native du Plessis, Chimaev was landed on his back for the first time in the Octagon in those circumstances.
Narrowly outstriking du Plessis over the course of the five-round fight, Chimaev would turn in a near-record-setting performance in the process.
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Unmatched on the ground against the defending champion, Chimaev racked up an incredible 21 minutes and 40 seconds of control time in the five-round clash.
And missing out on the record books by the narrowest of margins, Chimaev fell short of the most control time in a title fight in Octagon history.
To find that record, you need to go all the way back to 2007, when Sean Sherk defended his title successfully against Hermes Franca.
On that occasion, Sherk would amass a stunning 22 minutes and 18 seconds of total control time against the challenger at UFC 73.
And while missing out on that record, Chimaev is no stranger when it comes to inking his name in the history books.
Khamzat Chimaev’s history-making UFC start
Debuting in the promotion just five years ago, Chimaev, then a relatively unknown figure amongst mixed martial arts fans, would debut on a forgettable ‘Fight Night’ billed card in the Middle East.
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Making short work of John Philips with a second round D’Arce choke win, in just 10 days’ time — Chimaev had both his debut and sophomore outings in the books for the promotion.
Welcoming former Cage Warriors star Rhys McKee to the organization for his first stint, Chimaev stopped the Ballymena striker in the first round — locking up a rear-naked choke win in just over three minutes.
With his staggering 10-day turnaround to fight again, Chimaev smashed the modern-day record for the quickest return to action in Octagon antiquity.
Chimaev’s record would stand for just a single year, until Loopy Godinez — who he shared the UFC 319 card with — returned just seven days after her win over Silvana Gomez Juarez to fight Luana Carolina at UFC Vegas 40.