Max Holloway saw one of his impressive UFC records slipping away as Khamzat Chimaev outclassed Dricus du Plessis.
Against most predictions, the UFC 319 main event was one-sided for 25 minutes, with Chimaev completely dominating Du Plessis from start to finish to secure all three scorecards.
The newly crowned UFC middleweight champion has become known for his fast starts and brutal finishes in the UFC, chief among them being Chimaev’s crushing submission against Robert Whittaker in 2024 to earn his opportunity in Chicago this past Saturday.
But ‘Borz’ utilized a different approach to leave the ‘Windy City’ with the 185-pound gold in his possession, instead smothering Du Plessis on the ground for five rounds without appearing to push too hard for a finish.
That left fans unhappy, but the length of the UFC 319 main event did leave one legend fearing that he would lose more than one record…
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Max Holloway thought Khamzat Chimaev would smash his significant strike record at UFC 319
BMF champion and featherweight GOAT contender Max Holloway has collected numerous records during his memorable career, one of which he claimed in arguably the UFC’s most one-sided beatdown of all time.
Holloway battered Calvin Kattar in 2021, using his face as a punching bag for five rounds straight. By the end of the fight, ‘Blessed’ had landed 445 significant strikes — a UFC record that has stood to this day.
But as Chimaev rained down elbows and punches on Du Plessis in the awkward crucifix position, Holloway feared that the Chechen star would surpass his tally.
“Man, he’s punching him hard,” Holloway said while reacting live during round three of the UFC 319 main event on his YouTube channel. “Now you elbow. Yeah, now you elbow.
“Is he gonna beat me for the most significant strikes landed, bro? He’s gonna have a thousand, bro!
“No one’s ever gonna beat him, bro. He’s gonna have a thousand. Unreal,” Holloway added.
“He’s already there, bro.”
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Khamzat Chimaev broke a different Max Holloway record at UFC 319
In the end, Holloway had little to worry about when it came to his record for significant strikes.
Not only did Chimaev not even crack the top 10 in that category, he did not even come within 400 strikes of Holloway’s total. Just 37 of the new champ’s strikes at UFC 319 were ruled as significant, further providing context behind why many described the fight as lackluster and unsatisfying.
But ‘Blessed’ did not emerge with all of his records intact. Chimaev did break Holloway’s total strikes UFC record with an astonishing total of 529 shots. That figure surpassed the Hawaiian’s tally against Kattar by 82 strikes.
When it comes to damage dealt, however, there is little doubt between first place and second place in that category. While Du Plessis escaping largely unscathed, Kattar appeared unrecognizable after going five rounds with Holloway on ‘Fight Island’.