Khamzat Chimaev finally became champion after dominating Doricus Duplesis in five rounds to win middleweight gold in the UFC 319 main event.
The battle story was considered to be a fast start for Chimaev against Duplesis’s ability to survive the storm and return to the later rounds. That was not important as Chimaev repeatedly took Duplesis to the canvas and defeated him.
Still, Chimev’s ground game was just overwhelming as Duplesis barely offensively could do anything, as he felt his title escape. In the end, all the judges won a 50-44 fight, with Chimaev winning and becoming the new UFC middleweight champion.
“Always happy,” Chimeh said after his victory. Get my money. Dana (white), please send me my money. The belt is important to my country. I never plan a game. Just go to work and do it at the gym. I respect that man. The only champion who said my name. This man has a big heart. A real lion. A real African lion. ”
In one of the most ridiculous statistical lines in history, Chimaev covered Duplesis 529-45 on total strikes while earning 12 out of 17 takedowns in five rounds of battle.
It actually took less than 10 seconds to fight before Chimaev took the first double-leg takedown and took Du Plessis to the canvas. Chimaev wasted no time moving to the cross position as Duplesis didn’t absorb too much damage and began to rain short punches.
While Chimaev was surprised, Duplesis was well defended, and Chechnya’s Maurer was forced to switch his position up as he continued to put pressure on the champions. Chimaev maintained control, but Duplesis temporarily scrambled until he was back again.
As the second round began, Chimaev wasted no time snatching another takedown when he made Duplesis a muscle around the cage. With Chimaev on his back, Duplesis was on defense and refused to give up many grounds to the challenger.
Still, Chimaev was all over him, trying to advance his position and set potentially a submission to finish the battle. Control remained in control until another round expired, continuing to dominate with Chimaev, whom Duplesis has survived.
Rinse and repeat, and Chimaev doesn’t resist and defeats Duplesis to begin the third. Once again, Chimeh moved to the cross, this time as he began to flow down the sides of Duplesis’s face, he began to connect with some elbows.
Duplesis was stuck and went nowhere, but Chimaev continued to hit him on a strike before moving to Mount. Chimaev began searching for the naked chalk in the rear, and Duplesis could only dodge his submission before time ran out again.
The relentless wrestling from Chimaev didn’t stop as he tattered Doo Plessis every turn, moved him around the cage, preventing South Africans from coming to work for a moment. No matter what he tried, Duplesis could not break freely, and Chimaev was attacking him to the ground.
When Du Plessis actually scored a comeback and reached Chimaev, domination continued until Du Plessis found a moment of success. Unfortunately, Duplesis went to the guillotine choke and Chimaev broke freely before the solution presented danger.
One of the final scrambles gave Du Plessis a moment of hope, but that was all as Chimeav jumped into the celebration as soon as the final horn rang out.
The title fight victory moves Chimaev to 15-0 overall, while becoming the highly marketable champion of the UFC. As Chimaev finally recognizes his potential for his UFC title wrapped around his waist, anyone trying to take that belt is trying to get them to cut for them.
As for Duplesis, given the way his title ended and the fight unfolded, as long as Chimeh is the champion, it will take a lot to win the rematch, but he will remain one of the top middleweights of the sport even in defeat.