Khamzat Chimaev is finally a champion after he dominated Dricus du Plessis across five consecutive rounds to claim middleweight gold in the UFC 319 main event.
The story of the fight was supposed to be Chimaev’s fast start versus du Plessis’ ability to weather the storm and then come back in the later rounds. It turns out none of that mattered because Chimaev just repeatedly took du Plessis to the canvas and beat him up, although he was never quite able to get the finish.
Still, Chimaev’s ground game
was just overwhelming with du Plessis unable to do pretty much anything offensively as he felt his title reign slip away. In the end, the judges all scored the fight 50-44 with Chimaev getting the win and becoming the new UFC middleweight champion.
“Happy always,” Chimaev said after the win. Get my money. Dana [White], send my money. The belt is important for my country. I never game plan, just go in work and like I do in the gym. Respect that guy. The only champion who was saying my name. This guy has a big heart. A real lion. An African, real lion.”
In one of the most ridiculous stat lines in history, Chimaev outlanded du Plessis 529-45 in total strikes while scoring 12 out of 17 takedowns during the five-round fight.
It actually took less than 10 seconds into the fight before Chimaev snatched his first double leg takedown and brought du Plessis to the canvas. Chimaev wasted no time moving into the crucifix position as he began raining down short punches with du Plessis trying not to absorb too much damage.
While Chimaev was peppering away, du Plessis defended well and that forced the Chechen mauler to switch his positions on top as he continued to pressure down on the champion. Chimaev maintained control but du Plessis scrambled free momentarily until he ended up on his back again.
As the second round got started, Chimaev wasted no time snatching another takedown as he muscled du Plessis around the cage. With Chimaev on his back, du Plessis was playing defense and just refusing to give up much ground to the challenger.
Still, Chimaev was all over him, looking to advance his position and potentially set up a fight finishing submission. The domination continued with Chimaev just staying in control and du Plessis surviving until another round expired.
Rinse and repeat to start the third with Chimaev taking du Plessis down without much resistance. Once again, Chimaev moved into the crucifix and this time he started looking to connect with some elbows as blood began trickling down the side of du Plessis’ face.
With du Plessis just stuck and nowhere to go, Chimaev just continued to batter him with strikes before moving into the mount. Chimaev started looking for a rear-naked choke and du Plessis could only fend off the submission before time ran out again.
The relentless wrestling from Chimaev did not stop as he just rag dolled du Plessis at every turn, moving him around the cage and preventing the South African from having a split second to work. No matter what he tried, du Plessis couldn’t break free and Chimaev was just mauling him on the ground.
The domination continued until du Plessis found a moment of success when he actually scored a reversal and got on top of Chimaev. Unfortunately, du Plessis went for the guillotine choke and Chimaev broke free before the submission presented any danger.
One final scramble gave du Plessis a moment of hope but it was all for not as Chimeav jumped up in celebration as soon as the final horn sounded.
The title fight win moves Chimaev to 15-0 overall while becoming a very marketable champion for the UFC. Anyone trying to take that belt is going to have their work cut out for them as Chimaev finally realizes his full potential with that UFC title wrapped around his waist.
As for du Plessis, his title reign ends and considering the way this fight played out, it’s probably going to take a lot for him to earn a rematch as long as Chimaev is champion but he remains one of the top middleweights in the sport even in defeat.
