CHICAGO – UFC 319 will be remembered not just for the brutality of its main event but for the statement it carved into the middleweight division: Khamzat Chimaev is not just champion—he is an unstoppable force redefining dominance inside the Octagon. The Chechen powerhouse dismantled Dricus du Plessis over five one-sided rounds, capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship with a clean sweep on the judges’ cards (50-44 across the board).
From the opening seconds, Chimaev imposed his signature suffocating game plan, dragging Du Plessis to the canvas with ease and keeping him trapped under relentless ground control. Round after round, takedown after takedown, the script never changed—Du Plessis fought bravely but simply could not escape the storm. Chimaev executed 12 successful takedowns out of 17 attempts, amassing an incredible 21 minutes of ground control time.
The raw numbers exposed the scale of dominance: Chimaev shattered the UFC record for most strikes landed in a fight with 529 significant strikes, leaving Holloway’s historic 447 in the dust. By contrast, Du Plessis could only muster 45 strikes in total, a statistical gap that told the story of helplessness inside the cage.
But despite the brilliance, not every fan was pleased. Sections of the Chicago crowd voiced their discontent, booing Chimaev’s methodical style and yearning for knockouts instead of grappling clinics. Meanwhile, the undercard produced exactly what the crowd craved: Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy both delivered jaw-dropping spinning back-elbow knockouts, pocketing $50,000 performance bonuses and sparking roars that shook the arena.
After the fight, Chimaev silenced criticism with humility, praising Du Plessis as “a real lion” and commending his toughness for enduring five punishing rounds. UFC President Dana White also admitted it must have been “frustrating” for Du Plessis, who never got the chance to unleash his own weapons.
The real question now looms larger than ever: who can stop Khamzat Chimaev? His undefeated record of 15-0 remains intact, his aura of invincibility thicker than before, and the UFC middleweight division suddenly feels like a mountain that only one man has already conquered. With a champion who has both polarised fans and smashed records, the stage is set for the next challenger—but the outcome may already feel inevitable.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.