On Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev completed what seemed to be inevitable when he became the UFC middleweight champion.
Ever since joining the UFC in 2020, it seemed inevitable that Khamzat Chimaev would go on to win at least one UFC title in one weight class.
And this past Saturday, he finally did so when he utterly dominated Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event, picking up the unanimous decision to become the new 185lb champion.
Almost immediately after his win, UFC boss Dana White has teased that ‘Borz’ could potentially defend his title as soon as UFC 321 in October, after he stated his desire to fight in Abu Dhabi.
UFC contender claims he would ‘drown’ Chimaev in title fight
As this fight was one of the most widely anticipated fights so far this year, there were several big stars in attendance, including a few longtime middleweight contenders.
One of whom was Anthony Hernandez, who just last week scored his eighth UFC win in a row when he submitted Roman Dolidze in the fourth round.
Many fans believe ‘Fluffy’ is in place to potentially fight for the title soon, and potentially in an attempt to help his case, Hernandez sat front row for the UFC 319 main event.
And despite watching Chimaev utterly dominate ‘Stillknocks’ for five rounds, the number seven ranked middleweight claimed that he would ‘drown’ Chimaev if they fought in a title fight.
“Congratulations to him, it was a pretty f—— boring fight, not gonna lie, but man call me for the fight, I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu, I can stop all the s— and I can shut him down and with my gas tank man, I’ll drown him, I promise,” Hernandez told ESPNDeportes.
Who will Khamzat Chimaev fight next?
The middleweight division is potentially in the best position it has been in for a while, with there being several contenders near the top that could fight for a title.
It seemed likely that the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho would be next to fight for the strap, however, after Chimaev stated that he wants to fight at UFC 321 in October, it seems unlikely that they will be next.
That could well leave the door open for Hernandez or Reinier De Ridder, who was also in attendance, to leapfrog the pack due to timing.