Khamzat Chimaev jumps into top 5 despite boos in victory
Digest more
Paulo Costa ripped Khamzat Chimaev's title-winning performance at UFC 319.
Reinier de Ridder had designs on some time off after his win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi but now he’s actually targeting a much quicker turnaround with hopes that he could face new middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev sooner than later.
Khamzat Chimaev took the UFC middleweight title from Dricus Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Stillknocks in the main event of UFC 319.
Whittaker, who was quickly submitted by Chimaev at UFC 308, went on to lose his second-straight fight to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) last month in the UFC on ABC 9 headliner. De Ridder was able to survive a Round 3 knockdown to outlast Whittaker.
Khamzat Chimaev may not have made many new fans with his dominant win over Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 319 on Saturday, but the top title challenger is taking home the UFC middleweight championship after winning a lopsided decision with a smothering grappling performance.
Khamzat Chimaev was completely dominant in his victory over Dricus du Plessis to become middleweight champion at UFC 319 but he also faced criticism for not taking more risks and instead mostly just relying on his wrestling for takedowns and control time to win the fight.
What prevented Khamzat Chimaev from finishing Dricus Du Plessis despite the utter domination? "A lot of mistakes," according to Kamaru Usman.