Dricus du Plessis shared the octagon with Khamzat Chimaev for 25 minutes two months ago, and he was dominated by the now UFC middleweight champion. But despite that experience, du Plessis believes Chimaev should stay in his own division and not pursue a move up to fight Alex Pereira. Du Plessis lost the middleweight title to Chimaev in the main …
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If Khamzat Chimaev had the choice, his next opponent would be Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. The new UFC middleweight champion captured the title with a lopsided decision win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August. Pereira just regained the 205-pound belt with an 80-second TKO win over Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC …
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The main event of UFC Paris carried big implications for the middleweight division and its new champion. There has been a lot of talk since he won the title regarding who Khamzat Chimaev will face in his first title defense. While it unfortunately doesn’t look like Chimaev will be competing again this year after initially teasing this plan, we are …
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Nassourdine Imavov checked off the most important box on Saturday with a dominant decision win over Caio Borralho in the main event of UFC Paris. With Dana White setting up a two-fight tryout, of sorts, to face Khamzat Chimaev in his first title defense, was Imavov’s performance enough to make him the undeniable guy to face the new champion next? …
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Brett OkamotoSep 6, 2025, 07:04 PM ET Close Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. …
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Nassourdine Imavov has admitted that he isn’t too bothered about perhaps needing to jump over one more hurdle following his UFC Paris main event to get to a title shot. The home fighter on Saturday night, Imavov is ranked number two at middleweight, behind former champion Dricus Du Plessis who was utterly dominated by Khamzat Chimaev last month. However, even …
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Khamzat Chimaev brought his newly won UFC title back to Chechnya. On Saturday, Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis, claiming the middleweight title with a unanimous decision win in the main event of UFC 319. The victory made Chimaev the fifth Russian UFC champion (six if you include tournament winners) and the first to hail from Chechnya, and on Wednesday, “Borz” …
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When Dricus du Plessis returns, it will be for his first fight as a UFC middleweight contender since 2023. This past Saturday, Du Plessis topped a pay-per-view lineup for the fourth time in a row. He arrived in Chicago 3-0 in that category, having defeated Sean Strickland twice and Israel Adesanya in numbered event headliners. But that undefeated run and …
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1. What is your blurb review of UFC 319? Heck: Memorable card in a number of ways — along with a couple of absolutely shocking outcomes. Will be one we talk about at year’s end, certainly. Lee: Could have used one more spinning back elbow knockout, preferably in the main event. Martin: Unforgettable back-to-back spinning back elbow knockouts and a …
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CHICAGO — 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. As expected, Chimaev shot for a takedown immediately and was …
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