Khamzat Chimaev dominated the Octagon at UFC 308 in a way that greatly impressed the fans and professionals alike. It was nothing short of a phenomenon! But soon after he won in the first round, he put a title fight in his next plans. Even Joe Rogan seemed to believe that a title shot was what lay ahead in Chimaev’s road to greatness. 

Not too long ago, the fighting community was doubting his strength, and it all pointed to his frequent sickness and absence from the Octagon for about a year. He even had to pull out of his fight at UFC 303 because of his health issues. But why do people now think ‘Borz’ is next in line to fight for the middleweight championship title? Many even believe that he is the upcoming MW champ. Let’s weigh in on the Chechen fighter’s prowess and find out if he really deserves a title shot. 

Interesting and dominant last win at UFC 308

During the last episode of the JRE Fight Companion with Brendan Schaub, Bryan Callen, and Eddie Bravo, Rogan watched UFC 308 live and reacted to the undefeated middleweight’s dominance in the Octagon. He simply couldn’t help but talk highly of Chimaev.

He said, “Once he gets a hold of you, it’s so dangerous He gets a title shot. Not just that (how he beat Whittaker in the first round), but he ran through him. He didn’t get touched. He ran through him and strangled him in the first round. He might be the guy. Think about this at 185: So this guy was killing himself to get to 170. At 185, he’s the fcking man. That guy’s a scary-a– mother–ker! Scary! That grappling is next level.”

Robert Whittaker is one of the strongest fighters out there. He has achieved victory over names like Paulo Costa, Jared Cannonier, and many more. And defeating someone like him is indeed a feat in itself. From the beginning of the co-main event, ‘Borz’ showcased impressive agility and speed during his takedowns. It proved that defending against Chimaev in a wrestling bout was a task that was nigh on impossible. He showed that he was out for blood and wanted to finish the fight as soon as possible. And that he did!

Not only did the Chechen Wolf win via submission, but he also demonstrated the kind of strength he has in his arms by crushing Whittaker’s jaw with such force that it got fractured. Whittaker’s jaw was all bloodied when the match was done, and he did have to visit the hospital. 

That was when the fighting community got to know that Chimaev was no joke. He was out of action for so long that the world’s support began to fade. But boy, did he win it back in style! This extracted quite a bit of cheer from the fighting world. After all, winning over Whittaker in just 3.34 minutes established the Chechen fighter as one of the strongest and the most dangerous man in the middleweight category. 

If you’re new to the world of mixed martial arts, you might not know about the Chechen Wolf’s previous fights. Well, ‘The Reaper’ isn’t the only tough opponent that Chimaev has defeated. 

Khamzat Chimaev has beaten top-tier opponents in the UFC

Out of the 14 wins that ‘Borz’ has, 8 came from the Ulitmate Fighting Championship. While there are 2 wins via decision, the rest came via finishes, and 9 fights in his undefeated career ended within the very first round. Not only does this record speak of his dominant stance in the MMA cage, but also reflects some light on the kind of hardships he must have had to endure in training. 

Back when he was still fighting for Brave FC, Chimaev defeated Ikram Aliskerov in the first round with a KO. But his dominance was highlighted when he fought Gilbert Burns in the welterweight division at UFC 273. Even though he won the fight via a unanimous decision, ‘Borz’ made sure that he left his opponent completely bloodied. 

Fighting Kevin Holland at UFC 279 was yet another instance where Chimaev asserted his dominance in the Octagon. Within just 2.13 on the clock, he took ‘Trailblazer’ down with a D’arce choke on the ground. No doubt, D’arce choke is one of the toughest holds to execute, and the way ‘Borz’ took control of the fight said a lot about his grappling prowess. 

Chimaev even defeated the former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, with a majority decision at UFC 294. He began his intimidation game even before the bout began. Well, you did see the wild look and smirk on his face, right? He exerted confidence throughout the bout. Making ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ fear his grappling was just the first part of the game. This was a fight where the Chechen fighter showed that he was pretty good at striking, too. 

And now, the current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis gets a challenge from the Chechen Wolf. After defeating Whittaker and jumping to the 3rd spot in the UFC athlete rankings, a title shot was something that no one could take away from Chimaev. 

Dricus Du Plessis will face a new challenge soon

As soon as Chimaev secured his win over Whittaker, he took his aim at Du Plessis. Asking Dana White for the title shot during the post-fight interview, he said, “Yeah man, I’m going for the belt, that guy is, thanks bro, I love you, my brother…You’re a legend, respect that he took the fight…..Now the champion is running from me. Dana! What’s wrong with UFC man? Give me the belt!” 

And even the middleweight champ couldn’t restrain himself from talking about the #3 MW contender. But before he fights Chimaev, he would have to fight Sean Strickland. However, Du Plessis seemed pretty confident that he would defeat ‘Tarzan’ with ease. No doubt, he has already won against Strickland before. It was a fight against Chimaev that excited the fight fans as well as the champ himself. 

Talking to Radioraps, ‘Stillknocks’ said, “Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited. I think the whole world, the fans want to see it. The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights. So, the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. I think the Khamzat fight is 100 percent what I want. The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.”

Du Plessis plans on taking the ‘0’ away from the Chimaev. But ‘Borz’s prowess has put the champ on high alert. Nobody wants to get their face ‘smashed’, right? Nevertheless, with the kind of performance he has shown up till now, the MMA Gods would soon pit Du Plessis together with Chimaev. 

But will Chimaev’s undefeated streak still continue against ‘Stillknocks’? Let us know what you think of Chimaev’s title shot in the comments down below.