UFC, Khamzat Chimaev and du Plessis
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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.
Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) dominated and outgrappled Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to claim the middleweight title in Saturday's UFC 319 headliner at United Center in Chicago. Usman was one of the few fighters to pick Chimaev to win.
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.
Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan was in Khamzat Chimaev’s corner at UFC 319, guiding his friend and training partner to a middleweight title victory. It was sheer domination, but not exactly the most exciting fight.
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 took the UFC middleweight title from Dricus Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Stillknocks in the main event of UFC 319.
Now that Khamzat Chimaev is the new UFC middleweight champion, there’s plenty of 185 pounders looking to step into the cage for his first title defense. With the UFC teasing a potential fast turnaround in Abu Dhabi on October 25th,