There was a changing of the guard at the top of the UFC’s middleweight division at UFC 319, as Khamzat Chimaev dethroned Dricus Du Plessis to capture the undisputed 185-pound championship in Chicago.
The dominant nature of Chimaev’s victory, where he leaned (quite literally) into his wrestling and top control game to smother and stifle Du Plessis en route to a shutout decision win, means that Du Plessis likely won’t be bounce straight into an immediate rematch.
It means the UFC matchmakers will look to select a challenger from the drop of contenders jockeying for position at the sharp end of the middleweight division. And, while former champions Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya remain ranked in the top five, it’s likely Chimaev’s first test as champion will come against a first-time title challenger, with four contenders all battling to be the man to face “Borz” in his first title defense.
Sitting at No. 2 in the middleweight list, France’s Nassourdine Imavov is the highest-ranked contender not to have fought for the title already. He’s riding a four-fight win streak, with victories over Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen and, most recently, Israel Adesanya putting him within striking distance of a title shot.
He’s been matched to face Brazil’s seventh-ranked contender Caio Borralho. The senior athlete on the acclaimed “Fighting Nerds” team out of Sao Paulo hasn’t lost since his second pro fight back in 2015, and has an outstanding 17-1 (1 no contest) record to his name.
Borralho will take on Imavov in the Frenchman’s back yard, with the pair set to face off in the main event of UFC Paris on September 6. When the fight was booked, many felt it would be a title eliminator matchup, but further developments in the division mean that nothing less than a stellar performance – and possibly a finish – is likely to secure a title fight for the winner.
That bout forms one half of what looks like an unofficial title contender tournament, with two other surging contenders also set to face off in a middleweight main event at UFC Vancouver on October 18.
Former two-division ONE Championship world champion Reinier De Ridder has surged into the division’s top five with wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, Bo Nickal and Robert Whittaker. Now he’ll face fellow contender Anthony Hernandez, who is riding an eight-fight win streak, and has the chance to knock over a fellow contender to put himself in line for a title shot.
Hernandez will face De Ridder in the main event in Vancouver with both men looking not just to win, but to eclipse the performance of the victor in the Imavov-Borralho fight in Paris. The most impressive winner could well get the nod to face Chimaev next.
It’s more than likely that whoever emerges from this mini-tournament will be installed as the betting underdog by the oddsmakers, including the best bookies according to FIRST.com, but each contender brings a different challenge, and a different approach to the table. Whose approach will be the best?
Does De Ridder’s outstanding ground game, including off his back, and experience of fighting bigger, heavier guys put him at the front of the line? Or does the relentless pressure-fighting of Hernandez make him the toughest test for Chimaev? Imavov might be the most well-rounded of the bunch – can he keep it standing long enough to hurt the champion on the feet? And what about Borralho, whose ability on the ground and on the feet makes him a major threat to anyone at 185 pounds?
Whoever gets into pole position to challenge for the belt next, one thing seems clear – they will have a major job on their hands to unseat a fighter who, at 18-0, has looked almost untouchable in the Octagon. Will that run last, or could one of the four names listed above be the man to dethrone him?