Khamzat Chimaev continued his unbeaten streak by capturing the middleweight title at UFC 319 on Saturday night with a unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis.
Chimaev, who calls Dubai home and received a UAE passport in February 2025, dominated from start to finish and celebrated with the UAE flag as the decision was read out in Chicago.
He said post-fight that he was open to returning for UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25 should UFC bosses wish to put him on the card.
Addressing his move to the UAE, Chimaev said: “I moved to a Muslim country, I felt most comfortable [there]. I fought there before and they always give me big support.”
Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his corner in the first round with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had his opponent on his back for almost the entire first round.
Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis avoided significant damage in the opening session.
But Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds. His grappling skills took their toll in the third, when Chimaev landed a series of blows while Du Plessis was on his back.
Chimaev continued his ground game in the fourth round and was untroubled by a late rally from the South African in the fifth.
“That guy is tough to finish. Respect that guy. [Du Plessis] was the only champion to say ‘I’m in'. This guy has a big heart,” said Chimaev of his opponent.
Du Plessis showed some life late on with a takedown and an attempted guillotine, but it was too little too late. For most of the fight, it was a complete domination of the former champion.
“Nobody wants to be in a crucifix getting punched in the head like that. It’s got to be the most frustrating, suck the heart and soul out of you ... Just getting dominated on the ground like the way he did is no fun for anybody,” UFC president Dana White said.
All three judges scored the fight 50-44 in favour of Chimaev. “At the end, I went for it, had the back. I can almost taste the victory. He beat me fair and square tonight, he was the better man tonight. I’ll be back,” said Du Plessis.
The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center.
The main card featured two spinning elbow first-round finishes by Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy.
In the co-main event, Murphy (17-0-1), who took the fight on three weeks’ notice, held off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a right spinning elbow to end Pico’s night with a loss on his UFC debut in the featherweight division.
Murphy, with his brilliant finish, put himself in pole position to face Alex Volkanovski for the title.
Prates (22-7) won spectacularly in the first round with the ninth spinning elbow finish in UFC history by knocking out Geoff Neal (16-7), rebounding from his loss to Ian Machado Garry in April.
It was the first time Neal suffered a knockout loss. White promised Prates a fight in his home country on October 11 in Rio de Janeiro.
Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a right hand in the first round and sent him back to the ground in the second with a combination to win by unanimous decision in a middleweight fight.
Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine finish in the second round over Kai Askura (21-6). Askura had his way with Elliott most of the first round by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first round changed the momentum, leading to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.
