UFC middleweight star Paulo Costa has given his thoughts on why, in his opinion, Khamzat Chimaev is bad for the sport of mixed martial arts.
Following his win over Roman Kopylov earlier this summer, Paulo Costa seems to have his eyes firmly set on the UFC middleweight championship. Of course, claiming that title is going to be easier said than done, especially when you consider the fact that the champion is Khamzat Chimaev.
The good news for Paulo Costa is that he has a built-in rivalry with Khamzat. These two men have gone back and forth on social media on many different occasions and also in interviews, and it certainly feels like they’re destined to collide at some point in the future.
In a recent interview, Paulo Costa gave his thoughts on Chimaev’s UFC 319 performance and his fight style as a whole.
Paulo Costa’s view on Khamzat Chimaev
“I’m impressed with how he holds on the ground, but I expected an exciting fight. I wasn’t expecting Dricus to be stuck in the crucifix like that for so long.”
“People don’t want to watch guys hugging for 25 minutes. This is not good for the sport. They need to put me in there against him.”
Chimaev will obviously be the favorite for a fight like this, but we may have to wait a bit longer before we see it. After all, Costa is behind a few others in the pecking order, and it feels like Khamzat’s focus right now is on Reinier de Ridder.
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has an interesting view on those who are looking to submit Khamzat Chimaev in future fights.
Khamzat Chimaev is an incredibly intense wrestler and he’s someone who is willing to get in your face from the very first seconds of the fight. Someone who used to have a similar style back in the day was Chael Sonnen, who had great wrestling success against a lot of fighters.
Like Chael Sonnen, Khamzat Chimaev is a divisive figure within the mixed martial arts community – but after his title win over Dricus du Plessis, it definitely feels like the tide is slowly beginning to turn with more and more fans understanding the brilliance of ‘Borz’.
In a recent video, Chael Sonnen gave his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev and what kind of strategy his opponents should have.
Chael Sonnen’s view on Khamzat Chimaev
“If you ever want a wrestler to stop taking you down, get up off the bottom. I don’t care if you’re fighting three rounds or five rounds. You get off the bottom three times, that wrestler will stop trying to take you down. There is nothing that will mentally get in a wrestler’s head more than him succeeding and not being able to be rewarded for it. The takedown is the single largest amount of energy exertion that is done in the sport of MMA and you must be able to keep a guy there.”
“Anybody that plans to go to their back and triangle choke Chimaev, you’re not doing yourself a service. Anybody that’s going to come out and tell the world, ‘I will submit you,’ not only won’t you, you will look like a fool. You got to get back to your feet.”
UFC star Reinier de Ridder is perfectly fine with being taken down by Khamzat Chimaev if the two end up fighting one another.
As we know, Reinier de Ridder is one of the most exciting middleweight contenders on the roster – and in all of mixed martial arts. He hasn’t wasted any time whatsoever in making his presence known in the division, and after beating Robert Whittaker, he has set himself up fora championship opportunity.
That fight will likely come against Khamzat Chimaev, who is the new UFC middleweight champion after he was able to dethrone Dricus du Plessis. He absolutely dominateed DDP from start to finish, and in doing so, gave other 185-pounders including Reinier de Ridder an idea of how not to approach a fight against ‘Borz’.
In a recent interview, Reinier de Ridder opened up on the idea of fighting Khamzat, and he seems pretty comfortable with every possible scenario.
Reinier de Ridder welcomes wrestling with Khamzat Chimaev
“I think I’m a very good, a very big challenge for him. I’m interested to see what happens in the fight, of course. But if I get taken down, perfect. If I take him down, perfect. If we’re still standing, also great. I think I have a good chance of doing well in this fight, and I really hope we can get it done.”
de Ridder is a very relaxed guy and it’ll be interesting to see what he’s like in the build-up to a fight against someone as intense as Chimaev.
UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has made it crystal clear that he’s interested in fighting Reinier de Ridder in his next fight.
As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is the new king of the middleweight division. He earned that title by defeating and dominating Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 319, and when we say dominate, we mean it. Now, all fans are focused on seeing what the UFC is going to do next with ‘Borz’ as he continues to cement himself as one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts.
There are plenty of exciting middleweight contenders out there for Khamzat Chimaev to face, and one of the leaders of the pack right now is Reinier de Ridder. He is fresh off of a huge win over Robert Whittaker, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the UFC book this kind of fight next.
In a recent exchange on X, Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder certainly set the stage for their seemingly inevitable clash.
Chimaev: “I’m gonna make you look like white belt habibi [laughing faces]”
Khamzat is an absolute monster and you just know that he’s going to want to showcase his grappling prowess against de Ridder if given the opportunity to do so. Either way, though, the middleweight division is starting to look more exciting now than it has done in years. Buckle up, folks.
Khamzat Chimaev had a historic night of dominance at UFC 319 and broke a record that was long held by Chael Sonnen and the latter has weighed in on that. In the process of unwresting the middleweight crown from Dricus du Plessis, Chimaev connected on over five hundred strikes against the South African combatant when they threw down in the Chicago main event.
This snapped a record that was long held by Chael Sonnen who connected on over three hundred strikes during his own middleweight title bid that took place against Anderson Silva years ago. Taking to his personal YouTube channel to touch on this accomplishment from ‘Borz’ and the massive output of Chimaev on Saturday night, Sonnen said,
“There was 537 strikes landed by Chimaev. Let me put that in perspective because I used to have the record. I had the record, and I crushed the record to win it, and I hit 311. 311 was the record. I know that for sure because I had it. He had 527 against 49 strikes. So it was 10-to-1, Chimaev. When you see something that incredibly dominant, and there was all sorts of judges throwing up 10-8 rounds tonight, I mean, this was one of the most lopsided victories in history for a world championship.”
Khamzat Chimaev wants a quick turn around for his next fight
Khamzat Chimaev does not exactly seem like the type to smell the roses as he has already indicated when he wants his next fight inside the cage. It makes sense in the context of Chimaev having inactivity issues over the years that were informed by travel related issues as well as bouts of illness.
The specific card that Khamzat Chimaev is looking to compete on is in Abu Dhabi with the 31-year-old eyeballing UFC 321 on October 25th. This card also features Tom Aspinall defending his heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane and when Dana White was asked about of Chimaev could be booked for his first title defense on that card, the promotional figurehead did not shut down the idea outright.
Khamzat Chimaev had a history making performance against Dricus du Plessis but there was a certain aspect of the fight that seemed to be lacking a bit according to a former UFC title challenger.
During an appearance on Submission Radio, Hardy touched upon the pay-per-view main event in Chicago from over the weekend and largely indicated how impressed he was by this changing of the guard performance in the UFC’s 185 pound ranks.
The former UFC welterweight title challenger did seem to perceive that there was a bit of an uncharacteristic aspect to the 31-year-old phenom’s in-cage effort on Saturday as compared to some of Chimaev’s prior fights. In expressing what he saw take place in the du Plessis vs. Chimaev headliner at UFC 319, Dan Hardy said,
“He [Chimaev] was kind of tenderizing him and, you know, controlling him. It was impressive from a control perspective, don’t get me wrong. But, of course, you know, the main event of a pay-per-view, you kind of want to see a bit more intention to finish. That’s what I would like to have seen.”
“That’s what Khamzat’s been all about. That’s why people have been so excited about him because of how, you know, overly aggressive he is, like, violent. It’s scary to watch sometimes. That was just kind of, I don’t know, it seemed a bit of a safer performance. Maybe out of respect for Dricus and his strength and explosiveness and scrambling ability.”
Khamzat Chimaev’s performance assessed by surging middleweight contender who was cageside in Chicago
While some prospective title challengers might go a little quiet in the wake of such a dominant win by Khamzat Chimaev, someone who was cageside for the UFC 319 bout against Dricus du Plessis seems confident in navigating a path to victory against the newly minted champion. ‘Borz’ is looking to get back in the cage again at UFC 321 on October 25th in Abu Dhabi and a ranked middleweight who recently notched his own statement win is already envisioning how a Khamzat Chimaev fight plays out down the line.
Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez secured his eighth win in a row in what was a pressure heavy, dominant performance against Roman Dolidze when he notched a fourth round submission. During an interview with ESPNDeportes touching on what he saw while sitting front row cageside at UFC 319 and what he sees transpiring going forward, Anthony Hernandez said [via Bloody Elbow],
“Congratulations to him, it was a pretty f***ing 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**t and I can shut him down and with my gas tank man, I’ll drown him, I promise.”
Anthony Hernández thinks he can shut down Khamzat Chimaev: "I can wrestle I can do jiujitsu I can stop all the shit. Call me fot the fight"
The UFC’s long-awaited return to Chicago finally happened on August 16, as the promotion held UFC 319 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a highly-hyped main event.
It was the UFC’s first venture to the Windy City since 2019, when the promotion held UFC 238 in June of that year. That night saw Henry Cejudo become the third champ-champ in UFC history by defeating Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight title, as well as Valentina Shevchenko’s scary knockout of Jessica Eye to retain the women’s flyweight title.
The main event of UFC 319 saw the middleweight title on the line when Dricus Du Plessis defended the gold against Khamzat Chimaev. Du Plessis originally won the belt by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and retained against Israel Adesanya and Strickland, respectively, at UFC 305 and UFC 312. The undefeated Chimaev earned the title shot with a violent finish of another former champion, Robert Whittaker, at UFC 308.
The co-main event featured unbeaten featherweight contender Lerone Murphy in action, as he welcomed former Bellator top prospect Aaron Pico to the Octagon.
Who showed up in Chicago? Who missed the mark? Let’s find out in this edition of Hits and Misses for UFC 319!
Hit – Alexander Hernandez Does Indeed Do Great
The intention may have been to use Alexander Hernandez as another name for Chase Hooper to put away on his path toward becoming the breakout star some would hope he’d become. “The Great” stopped that in its tracks for now.
Hooper had a notable reach advantage and used that early on. But Hernandez worked his boxing, and his hands ended becoming the difference in this outing. Hernandez landed a right hand just before the horn that dropped Hooper, and he’d put the young star away with seconds remaining in the first round.
That’s now three straight wins for Hernandez since returning to lightweight last year, and he might be a win away from facing a lightweight contender. As far as Hooper goes, this isn’t the end, as he’s only 25, had a win streak coming into this contest, and is still developing.
Hit – Fighting Nerd Michal Oleksiejczuk Is Different
Sometimes a change of camp really does something to a fighter, and perhaps there’s no better example of late than with Michal Oleksiejczuk’s move to the Fighting Nerds.
Facing Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 319, Oleksiejczuk consistently stopped Meerschaert’s attempts to take the fight to the ground. That would have put the outing in Meerschaert’s world, and instead, Oleksiejczuk kept the fight in his and made Meerschaert pay.
Oleksiejczuk scored a pair of knockdowns before blasting Meerschaert away with ground-and-pound until the ref stopped the fight.
MOST 1ST-ROUND KNOCKOUTS – UFC History 11 – Vitor Belfort 09 – Anthony Johnson 08 – Michal Oleksiejczuk#UFC319pic.twitter.com/nunUEUzO8B
This is the second straight first-round finish for Oleksiejczuk, following his first-round finish of Sedriques Dumas at UFC 314. Oleksiejczuk feels like a reborn fighter since moving to the Fighting Nerds, and a third finish in a row his next time out would just put a stamp on that.
Miss – “Baysangur Susurkaev!” & The Silence Of Chicago
Let’s start by saying this — Baysangur Susurkaev deserves all the credit in the world for taking a Dana White’s Contender Series fight on a week’s notice, winning that, turning around four days later for his UFC debut and scoring a finish. That’s not my issue.
My issue is that more credit needs to be given to Eric Nolan — because Susurkaev left a performance that leaves much to be desired.
Susurkaev tried to pressure Nolan during the opening round, only for Nolan to work his hands and rock Susurkaev in the closing seconds of the round. In fact, had there been more time, Nolan could have gotten a finish. Susurkaev worked over Nolan’s legs in the second, and when the former CFFC welterweight champion tried to take the fight to the mat, Susurkaev made him pay and took his back, scoring the submission.
And while it’s good to have confidence, Susurkaev went on to say he’d be willing to fight again in a few weeks and tried to lead a chant of his name with the Chicago crowd…it failed spectacularly.
The feat itself is phenomenal, but I need to see more from Susurkaev before I can call him something special.
Hit – Tim Elliott Gives “Age Is Only A Number” A Supporting Argument
You may not see Tim Elliott challenging for a flyweight title soon, if ever again. That might be a miracle. But what he did at UFC 319 against Kai Asakura cannot be denied.
Asakura’s footwork helped give him an edge early on in the fight, allowing him to connect a number of times on Elliott. While Asakura had the edge for about four minutes, Elliott took him down in the final minute of the first and didn’t look back. In the second, he’d score another takedown and worked top position until he was able to score a submission via choke.
Elliott has now won four of his last five, though this marked his first fight since December 2023. Again, it may take a miracle for Elliott to blow up the flyweight rankings and get his way into a title shot. But this win has shown he’s a tough competitor who up-and-comers may have to go through just to get into the contender scene.
Hit – MVP: Same Ol’ Antics & Fighting Style
Vintage Michael “Venom” Page. That’s the best way to describe his victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC 319.
MVP stayed on the outside to start the opening round, nullifying Cannonier’s attempts to come inside and landing on Cannonier from range. He taunted throughout the fight, daring Cannonier to try and get him, only to make Cannonier miss and land on him. MVP also knocked Cannonier down a couple of times during the fight. And even when Cannonier got him down in the third, he wasn’t able to do much with it and couldn’t get the finish, which resulted in a decision win for Page.
After the way he looked against a former middleweight title challenger, and looking at MVP’s run in the UFC so far, it would benefit the Bellator veteran more to stay at 185.
Hit – Carlos Prates Makes Chicago Come Unglued…
What else needs to be said? It was one of the best knockouts 2025 has delivered and then some.
While Geoff Neal looked to be aggressive and come out strong, his single-shotted efforts proved to be no match in the long run for the game Carlos Prates was playing. Prates aimed low with kicks and picked up his output over the course of the fight’s near five minutes.
And then, right before the horn, WHAM! One of the most vicious elbows ever delivered in this sport, bringing everyone to their feet, jaw-dropped or roaring with cheers.
Carlos Prates scores the 9th spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history. It's his 5th UFC knockout, most in the UFC since 2024.
This is how you rebound following the loss to Ian Machado Garry. This is how you gain yet another Performance of the Night bonus. And this is how you make your mark and say, “I’m right in the middle of this welterweight title picture.”
Hit – …And Then Lerone Murphy Delivers An Encore
Second verse, same as the first, right? A spinning elbow KO is rare enough in the UFC, but then we saw two in a row.
Lerone Murphy pulled off the highlight to give Aaron Pico a rude awakening (or in this case, “sleepening”…I know it’s not a word) into the UFC. In something that has been a repeat of some of Pico’s other losses in his career, Pico got too careless and aggressive with his striking, and Murphy took advantage. Murphy picked up on Pico’s forward pressure motions and used a spinning elbow to drop him out cold in vicious fashion.
Murphy is undefeated, and the only time he didn’t win a fight was when he fought to a draw in his UFC debut. “The Miracle” finally, however, got a highlight that stamped a statement for a title shot — and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski seemed to be listening, posting “See you in December” after the fight. Perhaps Murphy has now found a way to jump Movsar Evloev for the next crack at the 145-pound title.
Miss – Names From Outside The UFC Aren’t Delivering
I was watching a YouTube video in the immediate aftermath of the fight from someone I really respect in the MMA media landscape, James Lynch, talking about whose stock has risen and fallen the most following UFC 319. And he had an interesting take in that, instead of picking Dricus Du Plessis or Aaron Pico, he selected Kai Asakura for the fact he’s now 0-2 since coming over from RIZIN and just lost to an elder stateman of the flyweight division.
And the more I think about it, the more he’s right. And that combined with the Pico loss, despite some wild takes in the MMA community over the past week, is why I’m putting this “miss” here and combining Asakura, Pico, Patchy Mix, and even Patricio Pitbull.
Of late, these names have all been fighters once prominent in other promotions, who have just not delivered when it comes to their time in the UFC thus far. For Asakura to lose to the defending champ in his debut is one thing, getting finished by Tim Elliott (no disrespect to him whatsoever) is another. People raved about Pico despite his track record, his UFC opponent, and the lack of success of some of his Bellator precedents. Look what happened.
Then there’s Patchy Mix, who looked awful in his UFC debut against Mario Bautista a couple of months ago. Patricio Pitbull might be a case of “came over too late,” but it’s undeniable his 1-1 start in the UFC, and how he’s performed in both fights, leaves a lot to be desired. Obviously, there are exceptions (look at Michael Chandler and Michael “Venom” Page), but the recent track sheet of guys coming over to the UFC from other promotions has not been great.
And now Pitbull and Mix are being paired against two other names from other promotions, respectively in former two-division Oktagon champion Losene Keita and former KSW champion Jakub Wiklacz. And the thing is, the UFC has no big loss either way with fighters they bring from other promotions. Win and they can consider you a top name and put promotion behind you. Lose? “Well these other promotions aren’t the UFC.”
Takedown, takedown, takedown was the strategy. And the belief was that the longer the fight went on, the more it’d favor Du Plessis. There were plenty of questions about Chimaev’s gas tank and how he would handle the wild, unorthodox nature of DDP’s fighting style.
He answered those questions and then some with an absolutely dominating performance. In fact, the last time a challenger had this much of a one-sided beating of a defending champion for as long as Chimaev did, you’d have to go back to Kamaru Usman beating the breaks off Tyron Woodley to dethrone him of the welterweight title at UFC 235. If were talking title fights in general, then perhaps the beatdown Amanda Nunes put on Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.
So what’s next for Chimaev? Despite not fighting more than once a year since 2020, he’s being very open about a desire to turn around on short fashion and defend the belt in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321. Is there anyone who seems to be willing to step up and try to match his style and beat him? Reinier de Ridder is raising his hand. But after all this time he’s spent on the sidelines with the Jon Jones situation, you can’t just move heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall down from the main event, right?…Right?
Miss – A Disappointing Ending To DDP’s Run
As someone who has ridden the DDP hype train since 2016, it’s crazy that the minute everyone starts to believe in his style, along comes Khamzat Chimaev to end the run in one of the most spectacular fashions.
The man simply had no answers on the mat. He just couldn’t figure out how to get away from Chimaev’s wrestling. The pressure Chimaev put on was just too much; and it’s honestly kind of a shock Chimaev either didn’t get the finish or have scorecards that were like 50-43 or 50-42.
And it’s a shame. Du Plessis solidified himself as one of the most entertaining fighters at 185 in the UFC. He made a name for himself proving people wrong; and this time he just couldn’t. And unfortunately, it means he isn’t getting a rematch anytime soon. And you have to wonder what is next for him considering he’s beaten Sean Strickland twice, and Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker once.
Perhaps Reinier de Ridder is next if the UFC isn’t ready to give RDR the title shot? Or maybe DDP can face Nassourdine Imavov or rematch with Adesanya?
Miss – Chicago Turns On Chimaev
Finally, I have to call this out. It goes beyond Chicago and into the toxicity that is the MMA online community, but Chicago really proved to show the hypocrisy in fans.
If you heard the kind of crowd Chicago was this week, it seemed like a massive W. People were wild and crazy, and it seemed most of the crowd put their support behind Chimaev. They were nuts for him during the pre-fight press conference and the ceremonial weigh-ins.
Then the fight happened. And the longer it went, the more boos rang down. Even when the man got the gold strapped around him, something most in Chicago wanted to happen, the reaction was a lot tamer by comparison.
Absolutely DOMINANT performance from @KChimaev tonight 👏
Look, it wasn’t the most entertaining fight and plenty of people are disappointed there wasn’t a finish. There is no doubt about it. But you can’t take away from the fact it was one of the most dominant performances ever in a UFC title fight — and that is an accomplishment in its own right.
Georges St. Pierre didn’t finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances. Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances. Amanda Nunes didn’t finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances.
Criticizing the fight does not mean someone is anti-Chimaev or making disparaging remarks about him and his background, and it doesn’t mean that someone is a “casual.” It can simply be journalistic or expert commentary. At the same time, if someone is praising the performance of Chimaev, it doesn’t mean they are crazy.
How is it that both things can’t be true? It wasn’t a great fight from the entertainment value perspective, but it did leave a significant moment in its own way.
Maybe the next time UFC hypes up a big main event fight, we as fans and pundits take more of a cautious approach when looking at it.
UFC boss Dana White has explained why Khamzat Chimaev has been able to become a big star in the wake of his win at UFC 319.
We all know that Dana White enjoys when he has big names doing big numbers on the UFC roster. Of course, it’s not quite as important as it was prior to the ESPN deal which made the company lots of money regardless, but it’s still important. Khamzat Chimaev certainly feels like the next fighter who has reached that position after he dominated Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night to become the new UFC middleweight champion.
Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see how Dana White and the matchmakers decide to book Khamzat. There are plenty of options out there for him in multiple weight classes, but given his tendency to be inactive, you’d have to wonder whether or not they’ll push for him to get back in there a bit more frequently.
In his post-fight press conference, Dana White spoke openly about the star power that Khamzat Chimaev now has in mixed martial arts.
Dana White praises Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 319
“Yeah. I mean, he’s a big star now. When you’re asking me, you’re saying how much bigger can he be? I don’t know. We’ll see. But he’s already a big star. Everything about this fight was big—from pay-per-view to all the numbers that we were looking at and just being here in Chicago… The last three days here felt big. He—tonight in the arena—the arena was insane. Yeah, he’s a star.”
UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has laughed off Sean Strickland in the wake of his title win at UFC 319.
As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is an absolute monster – and he’s also the new king of the middleweight division. He was able to achieve that goal by dominating Dricus du Plessis from beginning to end in the main event of UFC 319, and now, he’s ready to become one of the biggest stars in the entire sport of mixed martial arts.
Sean Strickland, meanwhile, is a former champion in his own right. He’s also been an outspoken critic of Khamzat Chimaev for a while now, to the point where he even predicted that Dricus du Plessis would win at UFC 319. Of course, he was proven wrong.
In a recent interview, Khamzat Chimaev gave his thoughts on Sean Strickland’s criticism.
Khamzat Chimaev laughs off Sean Strickland
“We could take him down many times, but how can he take me down? Come on. This guy, I beat him everywhere – in striking. But this guy just talks too much. So, he’s a funny guy.”
Chimaev has always been the kind of guy who is willing to take on any challenger, so who knows – maybe Strickland will be able to earn a title shot with another victory.
Even if he doesn’t, we can’t imagine that he’ll stop throwing shots in the direction of Khamzat anytime soon in the midst of what is quickly becoming one of the most exciting divisions in the sport.
Fans slamming Khamzat Chimaev’s latest performance might just be showing they don’t truly understand MMA, at least in the eyes of a former champion.
Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 319 at Chicago’s United Center, Chimaev fulfilled his long-awaited dream of becoming UFC middleweight champion, dominating Dricus du Plessis en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Absolutely DOMINANT performance from @KChimaev tonight 👏
Right out of the gate, “Borz” wasted no time dragging Du Plessis to the canvas, where he smothered him with unrelenting pressure for nearly the entire contest. Chimaev dictated the pace with chain wrestling and suffocating top control, converting 12 of 17 takedown attempts and racking up an astonishing 529 total strikes that left the defending champion stuck on the defensive.
Despite his dominance, the undefeated Russian rarely threatened a finish, with most of his offense coming as steady ground strikes rather than fight-ending blows. Even so, the sheer volume and control left “Stillknocks” little chance to respond, and by the end of five lopsided rounds, the judges awarded Khamzat Chimaev a 50-44 unanimous decision.
Robert Whittaker Slams Fans Who Dismissed Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 Performance
During a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker weighed in on Khamzat Chimaev’s authoritative performance against Dricus Du Plessis, which crowned him the new middleweight champion at UFC 319.
The former UFC 185-pound titleholder voiced strong disapproval of fans who dismissed Chimaev’s grappling-heavy approach, insisting that anyone who downplays “Borz’s” ability to dominate a fighter of Du Plessis’ caliber for the full 25 minutes simply doesn’t understand the magnitude of his control.
“Anyone that says it’s a boring fight is a casual,” Whittaker said. “If you’re a fan of the sport and you’re not fascinated by Chimaev’s ability to control someone as dogged as Dricus, who’s gotten out of things time and time again, who physically never gasses, super strong, has cardio for days, if you’re not fascinated by such one-sided domination, then you have to be a casual. You never see this level at a championship fight, this level of control. We just saw someone get crucifixed for 15 minutes. How can you be a fan of the sport and not think, ‘wow, that’s crazy?‘”
With this victory, Khamzat Chimaev has extended his undefeated streak to 15, including notable wins over the likes of Whittaker, Kamaru Usman, and Gilbert Burns.
UFC commentator Michael Bisping has declared that the age of Khamzat Chimaev has officially begun following UFC 319.
Last Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev finally reached the top of the mountain. He was able to dominate and defeat Dricus du Plessis to capture the UFC middleweight championship. In doing so, he won UFC gold for the first time, which is something that many have expected of him ever since he first debuted in the promotion.
Chimaev becoming a UFC champion isn’t exactly surprising to those who have seen his rise to prominence. He’s been able to defeat a plethora of top stars en route to winning the big one, and as we look ahead to the future, it’s hard to picture a world in which someone beats him for the title.
In a review of the event, Michael Bisping had the following to say about Khamzat Chimaev’s victory.
Michael Bisping believes the era of Khamzat Chimaev has begun
“If you ask me, because DDP is just so crazy and so unorthodox, I was on the edge of my seat because I was just wondering if he’d be able to turn it around. And in the fifth, it looked for a brief second like he might, but no – it was never to be. How do you not respect that kind of brilliance? How do you not respect that kind of dominance? How do you not respect that kind of power? Khamzat Chimaev has it all. And now, officially, the Khamzat Chimaev era begins.”
Joe Rogan has a contender in mind he believes could pose a serious challenge to Khamzat Chimaev’s title reign.
On Saturday night at Chicago’s United Center, Chimaev extended his undefeated streak with a commanding performance, claiming the UFC middleweight title by defeating Dricus Du Plessis via unanimous decision in the UFC 319 main event.
From the opening bell, “Borz” took control, swiftly bringing Du Plessis to the mat and keeping him there throughout the majority of the bout. That relentless pressure set the tone for the fight, as Chimaev dominated “Stillknocks” across all five rounds, converting 12 of 17 takedown attempts and leaving his opponent virtually powerless to launch any offense.
While Chimaev controlled the bout from start to finish, he seldom threatened Du Plessis with a fight-ending finish. His ground strikes, though not overly damaging, kept Du Plessis from mounting any meaningful offense. Still, it hardly mattered, as Chimaev’s total domination and superior grappling were enough to convince all three judges, who scored the bout 50-44 in favor of the undefeated Russian.
Khamzat Chimaev is arguably one of the most dominant fighters in modern UFC, but Rogan believes there’s someone in the 185-pound division who could challenge his supremacy.
Image: @UFCEurope/X
Joe Rogan Suggests Reinier de Ridder Could Test Khamzat Chimaev
Following the UFC 319 main event, Joe Rogan, alongside fellow commentators Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik, analyzed Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant performance and his looming reign over the division. Rogan highlighted rising contender Reinier de Ridder as a complete fighter who could potentially pose a serious challenge to “Borz”.
“Reinier de Ridder in particular, given his ability to grapple on the ground and also his ability to land shots standing,” Rogan said. “His toughness, his experience. He throws those combinations with that long lead-in knee. He’s interesting.”
“RDR” is coming off a split-decision victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi last month. The former two-division ONE Fighting champion remains undefeated in the UFC with a 4-0 record, including impressive finishes over Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal.
Meanwhile, Chimaev has stretched his perfect record to 15-0, including a 9-0 mark in the UFC, with 12 of those victories coming by stoppage.
Khamzat Chimaev has put on one of the most dominant displays in the history of UFC title fights, completing blanking Dricus Du Plessis over five rounds to claim the UFC middleweight championship in the UFC 319 main event.
Mere seconds into the fight, Chimaev level changed and scored a takedown. DDP attempted to get an arm around Chimaev but was forced to release. Chimaev got Du Plessis in a crucifix, landing short punches around the head of the trapped defending champion. Chimaev continued to work DDP over in top position for most of the round, until Du Plessis got back to his feet in the final 20 seconds. Du Plessis went for another guillotine but was unsuccessful.
Chimaev scored another takedown seconds into the second round, getting right into back control and maintaining it despite Du Plessis’ attempts to shake him off. Du Plessis got to the fence, but Chimaev continued to smother him with pressure, nearly locking in a rear-naked choke at one point.
The process continued in the third round, where Chimaev wrapped DDP up in another crucifix and landed more short shots. Du Plessis avoided the first takedown attempt in the fourth round, but Chimaev was right back to work with another successful takedown seconds later. Chimaev dominated through back and side control during the fourth.
Du Plessis tried to bring out strong strikes in the fifth round, and even through in a guillotine attempt, but it all was for naught.
Khamzat Chimaev Defeats Dricus Du Plessis To Become UFC Middleweight Champion At UFC 319
Chimaev now improves to 15-0 in MMA and completes the destiny that seemed set for him when he made his Octagon debut in July 2020. Chimaev earned the title shot with a submission of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.
Du Plessis had won the middleweight title with a decision over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. He retained the belt against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 and in a rematch with Strickland at UFC 312.
UFC 319 took place tonight from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!
In the main event, Dricus du Plessis looked to defend his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev. While in the co-main event, Lerone Murphy took on Aaron Pico in a featherweight matchup.
UFC 319 Results: Main Card
Middleweight Championship: Khamzat Chimaev def. Dricus du Plessis via unanimous decision (50-44×3)
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy def. Aaron Pico via KO: R1, 3.21
Welterweight: Carlos Prates de. Geoff Neal via KO: R1, 4.59
Middleweight: Michael Page def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Flyweight: Tim Elliott def. Kai Asakura via submission: R2, 4.39
Preliminary Card
Middleweight: Baysangur Susurkaev def. Eric Nolan via submission: R2, 2.01
Middleweight: Michał Oleksiejczuk def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO: R1, 3.03
Joe Rogan is skeptical about Khamzat Chimaev’s endurance.
Chimaev is locked in to headline UFC 319 this Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, where he will challenge reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis for the title.
CHICAGO, TODAY'S THE DAY 🚨#UFC319 is FINALLY here!!
Although “Borz” remains undefeated in his professional career, he has only gone the distance twice in the UFC. In both bouts, Chimaev faced significant challenges, and as the fights progressed into the later rounds, he appeared to fade, raising questions about the durability of his cardio.
Joe Rogan Questions Whether Khamzat Chimaev Can Last Against Dricus Du Plessis
During a recent episode of his JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan shared his insights on the highly anticipated clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. The veteran commentator also discussed the undefeated Russian’s preparation for UFC 319, discussing whether “Borz” has made any gains in endurance while training with renowned conditioning coach Sam Calavitta.
“What’s going to be interesting is if it gets into deep water, because I know he started training with Calvita—for his conditioning,” Rogan said. “He went to Sam Calvita who trained TJ Dillashaw, works with Aaron Pico, Arman Tsarukyan’s doing it with him, too. And that guy is a legend, man… He’s using real science to do it. This is the first time he’s ever been through a camp like this where he’s coming in fresh, where he’s not overtrained.”
Rogan also questioned how Khamzat Chimaev’s cardio would hold up in championship rounds, warning that Du Plessis could become a serious threat late in the fight.
“That’s the question—is can he sprint for five rounds? ‘Cause we know DDP can. Him and Sean Strickland, they were ready to have heart attacks at the end of that fight. Getting his nose busted like that and still staying and fighting with staph. He had staph. He had staph through the second fight. That’s why he was listless. He was on antibiotics and everything. He was all messed up.”
“Borz” enters UFC 319 riding a first-round submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October of last year. Chimaev currently holds a perfect 14-0 professional record, with 12 victories coming by stoppage.
Dricus du Plessis is a betting underdog this weekend as he steps into the cage against Khamzat Chimaev. DDP being seen as an underdog at UFC 319 as he enters the cage in Chicago on August 16th to defend his middleweight crown has drawn the attention of many, including a former multi-time UFC middleweight title challenger.
Chael Sonnen recently took the time to discuss the oddsmakers perceptions of Saturday night’s main event with a localized focus on DDP’s career but also on a more macro view of the sport. While discussing instances where du Plessis has been an underdog before only to shock the broader MMA world and also observing how the public has historically looked at certain stylistic matchups, Sonnen said,
“I think you just found out how good Dricus is. I think that’s what happened here. And I accuse you of that because I feel it, too. But I can’t identify it for you. I can’t verbalize it for you. Dricus fought Izzy and he showed a couple of things ever so slight. To get Izzy tired is hard to do and Dricus did. There’s nothing more intimidating than a guy that can weaponize pace, and we saw that he did it and he struck with Izzy, so all of a sudden you got to check off that box.”
Dricus du Plessis’ stand up and Khamzat Chimaev’s grappling
When touching on how public perception on upcoming fights has largely leaned toward particular approaches over other stylistic frameworks in the context of the Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev betting line, Sonnen continued,
“Never in history, and I’m going back to 1993, has DraftKings favored the striker over the grappler. Not a literal statement, but close enough. So Dricus showed you what a great and well-conditioned striker he is. When has that ever made you change your bet when you’re taking on one of the great grapplers ever? Go all the way back to ’93. Go all the way back to Royce and Severn. Go to Shamrock and tell me what you were so impressed with those guys.“
UFC 319 is almost here, and we here at MMA News are here to provide you the latest on betting odds for the card.
The card takes place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, August 16. The pay-per-view main card portion of the event will start at 10PM ET/7PM PT, with preliminary action starting at 6PM ET/3PM PT.
The headline attraction for the event will feature Dricus Du Plessis taking on Khamzat Chimaev with the UFC middleweight championship on the line.
The co-main event will see the undefeated Lerone Murphy welcoming Aaron Pico to the Octagon.
The pay-per-view card will also feature Geoff Neal facing Carlos Prates, Jared Cannonier clashing with Michael “Venom” Page, and Tim Elliott meeting Kai Asakura.
UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC 319 as of August 15 at 9:30pm ET, courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis (+215) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (-265)
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy (+154) vs. Aaron Pico (-185)
Welterweight: Geoff Neal (+180) vs. Carlos Prates (-218)
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier (+180) vs. Michael Page (-218)
Flyweight: Tim Elliott (+250) vs. Kai Asakura (-310)
Preliminary Card:
Welterweight: Baysangur Susurkaev (-950) vs. Eric Nolan (+625)
Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (+180) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk (-210)
Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Andrade (+120) vs. Loopy Godinez (-142)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper (-325) vs. Alexander Hernandez (+260)
Early Preliminary Card:
Lightweight: Edson Barboza (-130) vs. Drakkar Klose (+110)
Women’s Flyweight: Karine Silva (-198) vs. Dione Barbosa (+164)
Flyweight: TUF Finale: Alibi Idiris (-455) vs. Joseph Morales (+350)
We’re about 24 hours away from UFC 319, and MMA News is here to bring you the video from the ceremonial weigh-ins for the card!
UFC 319 takes place on August 16 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The main event of the evening will feature Dricus Du Plessis defending the UFC middleweight championship against Khamzat Chimaev. Du Plessis, unbeaten in the UFC, originally claimed the championship with a decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. He has since defended the title against Israel Adesanya and Strickland at UFC 305 and UFC 312, respectively. Chimaev, who hasn’t lost in MMA, secured this title shot with a finish of another former champion in Robert Whittaker at UFC 308.
The co-main event will feature the UFC debut of Aaron Pico, as the Bellator veteran faces undefeated featherweight contender Lerone Murphy.
The rest of the main card sees Geoff Neal face Carlos Prates, Jared Cannonier taking on Michael “Venom” Page, and Tim Elliott going toe-to-toe with Kai Asakura.
The ceremonial weigh-ins present the last opportunity for opponents to face off before they meet inside the Octagon. Check them out below via the UFC’s official YouTube channel!
UFC legend Max Holloway has given his thoughts on an area of Khamzat Chimaev‘s game that Dricus du Plessis could expose.
Tomorrow night, Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight championship against Khamzat Chimaev. The two men have been circling one another for a long time, and this has always felt like the natural next step in their rivalry.
Nobody really knows how it’s going to go, but one thing is for sure – if Khamzat Chimaev can get his wrestling game going early, he’s got an excellent chance of walking out of Chicago with the belt around his waist.
Max Holloway, however, believes that there’s a way in which Dricus du Plessis could use Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling advantage against him.
Max Holloway’s view on Khamzat Chimaev
“I like both guys,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “Both guys are awesome. This is crazy. I understand why, but this is crazy. The champion — especially with who the champion beat — is an underdog. It’s kinda crazy. The reason why he is, I understand who Chimaev is.
“The one biggest thing that I can point out that I hope this fight du Plessis watched was the fight that Chimaev fought Kamaru Usman. If you watch that fight — not many people are going to pick up on this, but here’s a little spoiler for you guys — every time Kamaru Usman decided to anti-wrestle and not wrestle back with Chimaev, he actually defended a takedown.
“Go watch. Go watch all the takedowns that Kamaru Usman defended. It was takedowns that he didn’t try to counter-wrestle with him, he just anti-wrestled, meaning he was just trying to go for full breaks and that’s it. He had great success when he wasn’t trying to counter back. …
“Any time Usman did try to wrestle back with him, guess who won the exchange? You guessed it right, Chimaev. if du Plessis took anything — I saw his coach saying they want to take the wrestling to him, that’s not the way you’re going to beat him. This guy is just going to wrestle back with you. You need to anti-wrestle. Then, maybe later on, you wrestle back.”
UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has made it clear that he doesn’t really care too much about Dricus du Plessis’ comments and that he’s focused on claiming the title.
On Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship. It’s been a long time coming for Khamzat who, for years now, has been seen as the next big thing in mixed martial arts. If he’s able to win the title convincingly, and go on to have a solid title reign, his star power will go through the roof – which we’ve been expecting to happen ever since he first debued.
Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t seem to take things too personally when it comes to back and forth spats with his foes, whereas Dricus du Plessis thrives on getting under the skin of his opponents. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, and this time around, Chimaev certainly seems to be keeping his cool.
Outside of a heated face-off, Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis seem to be showing one another a lot of mutual respect. In a recent interview, ‘Borz’ made it known that he isn’t that bothered about anything DDP says at this point.
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on the striking differences between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
Tomorrow night, Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight championship against Khamzat Chimaev. He’ll do so in the main event of UFC 319, and he’ll do so with a lot of people doubting his ability to get the job done. Of course, that’s nothing new for DDP in his UFC career.
He has constantly been able to flip the script and spring an upset – or at least, what would be seen as an upset in the eyes of the fans. Alas, Dricus du Plessis is far more talented than a lot of people give him credit for, especially in the striking department.
Speaking of which, Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on how the striking exchanges could go between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday.
Chael Sonnen’s view on Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev
“In the history of Chimaev’s striking, there was one moment — one shot — landed by Gilbert Burns. It got through, and Chimaev went down to a knee. He popped right back up. He won the standup battle in that fight, which was an instant classic, colossally hard and close. And against Kamaru Usman — who can handle himself everywhere, who was even in talks to box Canelo — Chimaev still won the standup portion. That one Gilbert shot has made people think he can’t strike, but that’s not what the record shows.”
“Dricus is much better in understanding and experience if you were to put him in pure boxing or kickboxing. Which one would do better in that environment? Dricus. But does that mean he can beat Chimaev in an MMA striking exchange? Very different. Chimaev is ugly, street-fighter-esque. He’s punching you just to get in and clinch — which would be a foul in boxing — but in MMA, it works. He still lands punches, he still throws a lot, there’s still power on them, and they’re still aimed right at your face.”
“I’m not asking if they just stand and box. I’m asking if they’re on their feet in an MMA fight — are you sure Dricus is better? That’s the question.”
Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley has given his thoughts on the rise of Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 319 tomorrow night.
As we know, Khamzat Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship on Saturday evening. The two will collide in the main event of UFC 319 in Chicago, and there’s a lot of excitement in the air for what this fight could look like. The pair have very different styles, and that has the potential to turn this into a thrilling encounter between two absolute warriors.
Khamzat Chimaev has achieved some wonderful things throughout the course of his mixed martial arts career but up to this point, he’s never managed to hold UFC gold. The hope from his fans is that this is the time for him to finally do it, but he needs to get off to a fast start if he’s going to put someone like DDP away.
In a recent interview with Action Network, Tyron Woodley gave his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev.
Tyron Woodley’s view on Khamzat Chimaev
“Khamzat is good, but he’s not great. He could be, and likely will be, but he’s not great right now he’s not. DDP has to be a spoiler, stay focused. He’s shown up in fights and beaten people like Stye Bender. He’s kind of like the underdog, the people’s champion, he doesn’t talk much trash but he wins a lot of fights. I think he could win this fight.”
We are just one day away from UFC 319, and we’ve got the official weigh-in results for you here at MMA News.
UFC 319 takes place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a number of noteworthy matchups, including a highly-anticipated middleweight title fight.
The UFC middleweight championship is on the line in the evening’s main event, as Dricus Du Plessis defends against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.
Du Plessis, who made his UFC debut in October 2020, won the UFC middleweight title with a decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. He has since retained the belt twice, defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 and winning a rematch against Strickland at UFC 312.
Chimaev, who made his UFC debut in July 2020, has also quickly risen up the ranks with his impressive performances. He earned this title shot with a finish of Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
The co-main event will see the undefeated Lerone Murphy, coming in off a win over Josh Emmett, face a man who will be making his UFC debut — Bellator veteran Aaron Pico.
The main card will also feature a welterweight bout between Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates, a middleweight battle between Jared Cannonier and Michael Page, and a flyweight fight featuring Tim Elliott and Kai Asakura.
UFC 319 Weigh-In Video, Results
UFC 319 takes place Saturday, August 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The main card begins at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, with the preliminary card starting at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT.
See above to watch the UFC 319 Weigh-In Show (beginning at 9:50 a.m. ET), and check out the full results below.
Main Card:
Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis (185) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (183) (Backup fighter: Caio Borralho (184 lbs))
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy (146) vs. Aaron Pico (145)
Welterweight: Geoff Neal (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier (186) vs. Michael Page (186)
Flyweight: Tim Elliott (126) vs. Kai Asakura (126)
Preliminary Card:
Middleweight: Baysangur Susurkaev (186) vs. Eric Nolan (183)
Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (185) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk (186)
Women’s Strawweight: Jessica Andrade (116) vs. Loopy Godinez (115)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper (155) vs. Alexander Hernandez (156)
Early Preliminary Card:
Lightweight: Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Middleweight: Bryan Battle (190)* vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (186)
Women’s Flyweight: Karine Silva (125) vs. Dione Barbosa (125.5)
Flyweight: TUF Finale: Alibi Idiris (126) vs. Joseph Morales (126)
*Battle missed weight by 4 pounds, fight is off (originally reported to remain on with a 30 percent fine of his purse)
Dricus Du Plessis is curious how Khamzat Chimaev will react to his first loss.
“Stillknocks” is set to make his third middleweight title defense against Chimaev in the UFC 319 main event this Saturday, August 16, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Du Plessis enters this fight riding an impressive 11-fight win streak, nine of which have come inside the UFC. The South African has only suffered defeat twice in his career, but those losses taught him hard lessons and fueled the confidence he carries into this weekend’s bout.
On the other hand, Chimaev has faced challenges in a few UFC bouts but remains unbeaten across his 14 professional fights. “Borz’s” perfect record has reinforced his mindset, giving him the belief he needs to dethrone “Stillknocks” at UFC 319.
However, Dricus Du Plessis is determined to put an end to Chimaev’s streak.
Dricus Du Plessis Raises Questions About Khhamzat Chimaev’s Composure Following First Potential Loss At UFC 319
During UFC 319 media day, Dricus Du Plessis spoke about his upcoming title defense against Khamzat Chimaev. “Stillknocks” questioned Chimaev’s mental toughness, pondering how the undefeated Russian might react if he suffers his first career defeat and loses his undefeated record.
“I think after Saturday night, it’s going to be time to go and maybe do some introspection saying ‘how are we approaching this?’ Because I don’t know where he’s at on a mental level,” Du Plessis said. “I know he has a lot of money, as he says. I haven’t checked his bank statements but he says he has a lot of money.
“You know he’s so certain he’s becoming world champion and I’m here to say no. There’s no way you’re becoming world champion while I’m the champion. It’s going to be interesting to see.”
UFC 319 is just a couple of days away, featuring a highly-anticipated middleweight title fight. Time to stir the pot more and gain more hype for UFC 319, courtesy of a good ol’ fashion question-and-answer session.
The ninth UFC pay-per-view event of the year goes down from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, August 16. UFC 319 will be headlined by Dricus Du Plessis defending the UFC middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev.
The co-main event sees undefeated featherweight contender Lerone Murphy facing Bellator veteran Aaron Pico in Pico’s UFC debut.
The rest of the main card features a welterweight battle between Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates, a middleweight fight featuring Jared Cannonier and Michael “Venom” Page, and a flyweight scrap with Tim Elliott taking on Kai Asakura.
Watch The UFC 319: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev Pre-Fight Press Conference
As per tradition, the UFC pay-per-view main card participants will be featured in a press conference during fight week. This is the opportunity for fighters to answer questions from media and fans, as well as potentially lay in some smack talk on their opponents.
