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).

Khamzat Chimaev finally lived up to his early promise on Saturday night, utterly dominating Dricus du Plessis to claim the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319.

Khamzat Chimaev dethroned UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis Saturday night, winning by unanimous decision in dominant fashion at the United Center in Chicago. Chimaev, the 31-year-old Russian,