Khamzat Chimaev was essentially crowned a future UFC champ from the moment he made his promotional debut in 2020. Five years later, he finally made good on those early expectations. Chimaev (15-0) claimed the middleweight championship at UFC 319 on Saturday night inside United Center in a dominant showing over Dricus Du Plessis (23-3).

The wrestling game of Chimaev was simply too much for Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to handle. After 25 minutes, the judges turned in unanimous scores of 50-44 to crown Chimaev as the new 185-pound champion.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brings us UFC 319 TONIGHT (Sat., August 16, 2025), streaming LIVE on ESPN+ PPV from inside United Center in Chicago, IL. The pay-per-view (PPV) main event is Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev for Du Plessis’ UFC Middleweight championship title.