After years of dominance in the premier promotion, Khamzat Chimaev finally fought for UFC gold for the first time this past Saturday, putting on a show.
In a fight that seemed over a year in the making, Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev finally clashed this past Saturday at UFC 319 in Chicago.
From the opening bell, Chimaev utterly dominated the champion, sailing to a unanimous decision win, despite going into the fight with his cardio being doubted by the masses.
Following the main event, UFC boss Dana White provided his wild scorecard for the fight, showcasing just how dominant the Chechen was.
Chimaev shows off rare emotional side with phone call to his mother
Following his blockbuster performance, it seems as though ‘Borz’ could reign over the middleweight division for a while, however, longtime contender Sean Strickland believes he can ‘out grapple’ the new champion.
Despite that, Strickland is extremely unlikely to fight for the title again any time soon, and Chimaev is looking to return to action as soon as October, which White is willing to consider.
Throughout his storied UFC tenure, Chimaev has divided the fanbase, with some fans loving him and his personality and fight style while others not so much.
However, immediately after his win in Chicago, ‘Borz’ showed a rare side of emotion when he quickly got on a FaceTime call with his mother to show off his new UFC title.
The 31-year-old has always been extremely stoic and emotionless whenever caught on camera, but this time, he grinned with excitement while talking to his family back home in Chechnya.
Who will Khamzat Chimaev defend his UFC middleweight title against first?
It seemed likely that the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho would fight for the title next, however, with their fight scheduled to take place in September, the timing likely wouldn’t work.
That leaves Reinier De Ridder as the likely next challenger considering his win over Robert Whittaker recently, and the fact that he was front row watching the action on Saturday night.