Overview

• Chimaev dethroned Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319, sweeping all three cards 50–44 and landing a record 529 strikes while controlling him for 21 minutes and 40 seconds.
• Georges St-Pierre and Gordon Ryan lauded Chimaev’s modern grappling mastery, while Daniel Cormier criticized Du Plessis’s camp for failing to prepare him for relentless takedowns.
• Veteran referee John McCarthy defended Marc Goddard’s in-fight stand-ups after critics claimed they disrupted Chimaev’s dominant positions.
• Sean Strickland’s predictions of Chimaev ‘breaking’ under pressure were publicly dismissed by the champion, even as allies Paulo Costa and Jorge Masvidal weighed in on social media.
• Reports suggest the UFC could target UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi for Chimaev’s first title defense, with contenders such as Reinier de Ridder, Caio Borralho and the eventual Imavov vs. Borralho winner emerging as frontrunners.