Khamzat Chimaev dominates Driscus Du Plessis to win title
CHICAGO: Khamzat Chimaev's total dominance of Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight title in Chicago on Saturday was reflected in some jaw-dropping statistics that paint a stark picture of the challenge faced by any challenger hoping to dethrone him.
Apart from the last couple of minutes of the final round, the Chechen-born Chimaev, who began training in MMA while living in Sweden before moving to Abu Dhabi and fighting under the flag of the United Arab Emirates, utterly smothered his South African opponent.
Despite being the champion, Du Plessis came into the fight as the betting underdog and it quickly became apparent why. Having built his career on his suffocating wrestling, the 31-year-old Chimaev immediately took the champion down and the punishment began. In all, Chimaev fired off a whopping 567 strikes over the course of five five-minute rounds, landing a stunning 529 of them. Du Plessis managed a mere 68, and landed only 45. Nothing the challenger did was either unexpected or fancy. He took the fight to the mat with a double-leg takedown and then advanced to a crucifix position, trapping the right arm of Du Plessis with his legs and lying across his opponent's torso to control his other arm.
That left Du Plessis almost defenceless as Chimaev fired short left hands at his head, knowing that one wrong move by the man on the bottom while trying to escape could put him in a worse position, or even see him knocked out. To his great credit Du Plessis, who is also 31, never quit but by the end of the third round he was so far behind on the scorecards that he needed a finish. He somehow found the energy to go on the offensive in the final two minutes of the fight, but to no avail. Incredibly for such a one-sided fight, the toughness of Du Plessis managed to keep the fans in attendance at the United Center on the edge of their seats, despite knowing that Chimaev was on his way to a one-sided unanimous decision victory.
The UFC had a number of middleweight contenders sitting cage-side, and their only consolation as they watched the brutal beat-down of Du Plessis and Chimaev's coronation might have been that he didn't manage to finish the fight early with a violent knockout or submission. If that is indeed his only flaw, none of them will be heading to the gym on Monday morning and relishing the prospect of facing the new champion and challenging him for the belt. – Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
3 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Thompson out of sprint showdown with Lyles in Lausanne
CHORZOW: Jamaica's Kishane Thompson celebrates after setting a meeting record and winning the men's 100m final event of the Silesia Diamond League athletics meeting in the Stadion Slaski in Chorzow, Poland. – AFP CHORZOW: Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson will not run in the 100 metres at the Lausanne Diamond League on Wednesday, with media reports citing shin discomfort as the reason for the Jamaican's absence. Thompson won the much-anticipated rematch with Noah Lyles at Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Silesia, after the American beat Thompson by five thousandths of a second at last year's Olympic final, but there will be no repeat showdown in Switzerland. Saturday's race was the pair's first meeting since the Paris final, with Lyles' season delayed by an ankle injury. Thompson came out on top in a time of 9.87 seconds, with the American posting his best time of the season, coming second in 9.90. Thompson is unlikely to run again before the world championships in Tokyo in September. He is currently the man to beat after clocking 9.75 at the Jamaican championships in June. Lyles will have another Jamaican rival to contend with in Lausanne, facing Oblique Seville who beat the American when Lyles made his first 100m appearance of the season at the London Diamond League meet in July. Another Jamaican, world champion Shericka Jackson, is also absent from the women's 200 metres starting list in Lausanne. Jackson posted a season's best time of 22.17 seconds in Silesia on Saturday to win the 200m. – Reuters
Kuwait Times
15 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Injured Springboks captain Kolisi out for four weeks
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa captain and flanker Siya Kolisi will be sidelined for four weeks due to a knee injury suffered in a shock loss to Australia at the weekend, coach Rassie Erasmus said on Monday. The injury occurred early in the second half of a 38-22 defeat in Johannesburg last Saturday in a Rugby Championship first round match. Kolisi will not only miss another Test against the Wallabies, on Saturday in Cape Town, but is also likely to be sidelined for the Springboks' two away matches against arch-rivals New Zealand next month. Erasmus said three other starters in Johannesburg - wings Edwill van der Merwe (ankle) and Kurt-Lee Arendse (knee) and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit (concussion) - will also miss the Cape Town Test. In the absence of Kolisi, outside centre Jesse Kriel will take over as captain of a team that slipped from first to third behind New Zealand and Ireland in the world rankings after the shock defeat. South Africa built a 22-point lead within 18 minutes, then failed to score again while Australia crossed the tryline six times for a first victory in Johannesburg since 1963. 'Obviously, everyone is ashamed, no one is proud of themselves,' Erasmus told a press conference in Cape Town. 'It only strengthens our cohesion and our desire to do well. You do not learn anything from a match like that - when you see what we sometimes handed them on a plate.' Australia have also been hit by injuries with wing Dylan Pietsch (broken jaw) and prop James Slipper (concussion) flying home after the Ellis Park Test. Coach Joe Schmidt has called up three replacements, wing-centre Filipo Daugunu, centre Hamish Stewart and prop Rhys van Nek, as cover. The Wallabies hope captain and No 8 Harry Wilson, who scored two tries in Johannesburg before limping off injured, will be fit for Cape Town. — AFP
Kuwait Times
16 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Alcaraz wins Cincinnati Open
Swiatek beats Paolini to clinch WTA Cincinnati Open title CINCINNATI: Carlos Alcaraz won the ATP Cincinnati Open title on Monday after defending champion Jannik Sinner retired due to illness in the first set. World number one Sinner came into the final feeling unwell and lost the first seven points of the match before throwing in the towel at 5-0 down in a game played in 30-degree Celsius heat. Sinner will now focus on recovery with the US Open starting on Sunday. The Italian is due to take part in the US Open's revamped mixed doubles on Tuesday, but his participation in that draw is now in serious doubt. 'I'm disappointed, I didn't feel great from yesterday,' Sinner said afterwards. 'During the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. 'I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give (them) a match - that's the reason why I went on the court. 'But it was not meant to be for me today. But I don't want to take anything away from Carlos. He had a great week, great, great tournament again.' Sinner said he is now pointing to the final Grand Slam of the season. 'The main focus, obviously, is for the US Open. Recovery is the most important. And then we see,' he said. Despite the temporary health setback, Sinner is pleased with his showings in 2025. 'I feel like it's an incredible season,' he said. 'We'll keep going, keep pushing. I have some points to improve if I want to go far in US Open. 'It was a good test this week, trying to understand where my level is.' Sinner lasted for just 22 minutes, calling for the doctor after losing the fifth game and shortly after going to shake hands with Alcaraz. MASON, OHIO: Jasmine Paolini of Italy and Iga Swiatek of Poland pose with their Rookwood Cup after their match during the women's final of the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center. – AFP Alcaraz eyes New York It was the second match in a row Alcaraz had won over an ailing opponent, following his win over Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. Alcaraz won his 22nd career title as he claimed his 17th victory in a row at the Masters 1000 level. He now leads Sinner 9-5 and lost to the Italian in their last match, the Wimbledon final last month. 'Obviously it's not the way that I wanted to win the final,' the Spaniard said. 'First of all, I just want to wish Jannik a speedy recovery. Hopefully in a few days he's going to be okay to prepare and practice well to the US Open. 'For myself, I'm just really, really happy to be able to leave the with trophy, since I just lost that final in 2023 (to Novak Djokovic) I just wanted really, really badly this, this trophy, so I just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.' Former Open winner Alcaraz, who was upset in the second round a year ago, is looking forward to a more respectable showing in New York. 'I'm feeling a lot of confidence. New York is a place that I love is where I got my first Grand Slam. 'I appreciate the love and the support that I received there every every year... last year it was disappointing, the level that I played there. 'So this year, I really want to show my really good tennis, my best tennis, try to go as far as I can, enjoy as much as I can.' Earlier, Iga Swiatek filled in a piece of her career tennis puzzle on Monday as she won the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open for the first time with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Jasmine Paolini. The final lasting for just under two hours featured 16 break-point chances, with the Polish winner converting on six of 10 while Paolini struggled to make the most of her break opportunities. The six-time Grand Slam singles champion's 11th career win at the WTA 1000 level has left her within striking distance of the all-time record of 13 titles held by Serena Williams. Swiatek won the Cincinnati without dropping a set. 'It's always tough in Cincy,' Swiatek told the Tennis Channel after her maiden win in Cincinnati. 'This gives me a boost of confidence. 'I'm happy with the work we've been doing. (The team) had to convince me to play in a different way. I'm now happy with that process; it all feels even better after the match. I'm glad I finished in straight sets.' The 24-year-old backed up her breakthrough Wimbledon trophy with the Midwest honours and now heads to the last Grand Slam of the season at the US Open with a major confidence boost after the 24th title of her career. Swiatek is due to partner Norway's Casper Ruud in the US Open's revamped mixed doubles starting on Tuesday. The Pole said she is relishing that challenge on the slower courts of Flushing Meadows. 'I'm a good player. I can play on any surface,' she said. 'They are slowing down the courts every year, kind of,so I'm not sure how it is now there. But tennis is all about adjusting.' Swiatek also climbed to within 500 points of current WTA number one Aryna Sabalenka, with the lead at the top of the table likely to be in play at the Open when it begins on Sunday. Swiatek had stalled twice at the last two editions at the semi-final stage and now has only the Canadian tournament where she has not reached the final at a 1000 event. 'Today was tough, we were both tight, but that happens in a final,' Swiatek said. 'I was glad to close it out in the end. 'Not everything was perfect, but mentally I was there to play my best tennis. We did a lot of mental work. I was really composed and consistent about how I thought about my game.' Swiatek began on the wrong foot as she lost serve to trail 0-3. But the situation was only temporary as the former number one immediately began her turnaround. The Pole answered immediately with two breaks of serve and moved to a 5-3 lead. But Paolini earned another break in the 10th game, saving a Swiatek set point to square the final at five-all. Paolini dropped serve for 5-6, giving her opponent the chance to produce a love game and claim the opener 7-5 after just under an hour on court. The second set was a roller coaster, with the pair twice swapping breaks of serve before Swiatek salvaged a pair of break points to lead 5-3 and then serving out the winner two games later. — AFP
