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In a breathtaking display of wrestling mastery and relentless grappling pressure, Khamzat Chimaev became the new UFC middleweight champion by dismantling reigning titleholder Dricus Du Plessis over five grueling rounds at UFC 319, winning all three judges' scorecards 50-44. The highly anticipated showdown, held at the United Center in Chicago, ended with Chimaev cementing his legacy as one of the most dominant title challengers in UFC history.
KHAMZAT CHIMAEV IS YOUR NEW UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION. 🐺👑
UTTERLY DOMINANT. WOW. 😱 #UFC319 pic.twitter.com/O2qia4z5nU
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) August 17, 2025
Relentless Grappling Pressure: The Hallmark of Khamzat Chimaev's Victory
From the opening bell, Chimaev set the tone by taking Du Plessis down within the first eight seconds, immediately imposing his will on the reigning champion. Despite Du Plessis’ attempts at a guillotine choke early in the fight, Chimaev’s superior wrestling fundamentals allowed him to maintain control, transitioning to dominant positions such as the crucifix and repeatedly pounding short strikes to the side of Du Plessis’ head. Throughout the round, Chimaev worked tirelessly to keep the pressure relentless, wrestling Du Plessis to the cage and driving the pace at every opportunity.
What made Chimaev’s performance historic was not just the effectiveness of his takedowns but his ability to maintain this dominance for the entirety of five rounds. In round two alone, Chimaev snapped up another takedown with blistering speed, refused to relinquish control as Du Plessis tried to stand, and kept securing his back with unforgiving positional dominance while landing knees to the hips and thighs of the champion.
Du Plessis, known for his resilience and unorthodox style, was visibly overwhelmed as Chimaev’s calculated and brutal wrestling nullified his striking and grappling offense. The champion managed to stand up only in fleeting moments before being dragged down again, indicating how thoroughly Chimaev dictated the terms of the fight.
The Most Dominant Title Challenge in UFC History
Chimaev’s five-round campaign against Du Plessis was a benchmark in UFC history for the level of control and dominance shown by a challenger in a title fight. Never before had a contender dethroned a reigning champion through sustained grappling pressure so impeccably.
Khamzat Chimaev just had the most dominant performance in UFC history man pic.twitter.com/NjGIOf4k9G
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) August 17, 2025
While Du Plessis had been the picture of strength in the division—coming into the fight undefeated in the UFC and having notable wins over top contenders and former champions like Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland—he was utterly dismantled in this bout. Chimaev’s implacable top control, relentless cage wrestling, and metering out damage through strikes while methodically exhausting the champion’s offense left no doubt in the minds of fans, commentators, and judges alike.
From early in the fight, the momentum rarely shifted away from Chimaev. His smirk during fight introductions foreshadowed the ruthless efficiency he was about to unleash inside the Octagon.
The fight underscored Chimaev’s evolution from a devastating prospect with an undefeated record to a fully realized UFC champion capable of imposing his wrestling game on the sport’s elite. His victories over former champions like Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman positioned him as a feared force, but this performance definitively placed him atop the 185-pound division.
Though the standout feature was Chimaev’s grappling supremacy, it is important to recognize the breadth of his skill set. His ability to land damaging knees and short punches and elbows while maintaining dominant positions not only sapped Du Plessis physically but added an extra layer of punishment that made escape and counterattack nearly impossible. His conditioning and mental fortitude allowed him to sustain pace and pressure for the full five rounds—an aspect critically questioned in his earlier career but now clearly no longer a weakness.
Du Plessis had claimed in the buildup that he was built to push pace for five rounds, but it was Chimaev who dictated the tempo and flow, forcing the champion to react rather than act. Those rounds quickly became a display of Chimaev’s physical superiority and technical grit, showcased by his seamless transitions between wrestling, ground control, and striking from dominant positions.
Khamzat Chimaev’s coronation as middleweight champion immediately shifts the landscape of the division. With an unblemished record and a performance that set new standards for title challenges, Chimaev is now the man to beat. Fans and pundits alike will wonder who can withstand or counter his ferocious wrestling and multifaceted offense.
The division now awaits to see who Chimaev will face in his first title defense, but one thing is clear: his ruthless and relentless style has left a lasting mark, and the era of the “Wolf” has truly begun at middleweight in the UFC. His dominance over a top-tier champion across five full rounds is a statement that will resonate throughout MMA history as one of the most spectacular displays of grappling prowess and championship-caliber conditioning ever witnessed.
