'Five 10-8s': Fighters react to Khamzat Chimaev dominating Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319
Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) joined an exclusive group of names to win undisputed gold with an undefeated record when he earned a METHOD victory over Du Plessis in the headliner at UFC Apex in Chicago. As a result, "The Wolf" starts a new era where, if he can keep healthy and compete regularly, has much potential for excitement.
Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Chimaev's title win over Du Plessis at UFC 319.
The MMA community went wild over Dricus Du Plessis' upset title defense over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.
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USA Today
28 minutes ago
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Mick Maynard's Shoes: What's next for Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 319 title win?
Khamzat Chimaev started a new era at middleweight Saturday at UFC 319 when he overwhelmed Dricus Du Plessis to claim gold. Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) was on a mission for 25 minutes against Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), and it resulted in a unanimous decision win and the belt at United Center in Chicago. With a number of potential contenders at 185 pounds, who will be first to challenge Chimaev? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC 319.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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If he was the boogeyman as a challenger, Khamzat Chimaev is set to be a tyrant as a champion
It's a tricky business, the fight game, especially when lofty expectations are at the core of it. Everybody knew Dricus du Plessis wanted all the smoke at UFC 319 on Saturday night. He stared down Khamzat Chimaev with an unshakable demeanor, the unsung middleweight champion in Chicago to stop the tyrant of the class from a hostile takeover. When Chimaev returned that gaze with a wicked smile — flashing unnatural bemusement that only grew darker the moment his devilish eyebrow popped up to signal his bad intent — there was a perfect moment in the fight game. That fleeting moment right before a big fight when anticipation has been brought to the point of bursting, and all that's left to do is find out. God, it was good. Goosebumps! Then they moved toward each other and off we went. Or, more accurately, down DDP went. Chimaev wasted little time in torpedoing in toward du Plessis' legs and dumping him onto the canvas. Soon Chimaev locked an arm down with his knee and the South African sacrifice ended up in a crucifix position. Down came a series of low-impact fists to his ear, as if Chimaev were tenderizing a steak. DDP was forced to try to buck for dear life, to attempt kip-ups with a demon of the industry on his chest, yet it was futile. And maaaan, how quickly futility became the theme. Whatever drama fed into UFC 319, which did a record gate at the United Center — just over $11 million — changed to something like awe pretty quickly. Awe that DDP, who'd derailed Robert Whittaker, taken out Israel Adesanya and batted back Sean Strickland on two separate occasions, had nothing for Chimaev. Nothing. He was being tackled, dumped and splattered across the canvas with such ease that half the attention being paid swung toward his incompetence. The other half marveled at the rampant terror of Chimaev, who came exactly as advertised — a Chechen wellspring of violent impulses. For those of us who assumed Khamzat would fatigue in the second round, we found out we were duping ourselves. If we thought DDP surviving into the third would mean it was his fight, imagine the surprise at tuning in for a 25-minute torture film. And if we thought the fight hitting the championship rounds would look like an act of brilliant defiance, well, maybe it was. DDP was still there, trying to escape Khamzat's custody. Admirable stuff from a human spirit standpoint. Yet Khamzat let the will bleed out. He wasn't playing with his food, as a cat might, but it had something in common with the cruelty. In fact, there was something like joy in the onslaught. Fluffy Hernandez, who won his fight with Roman Dolidze last week and was seated cageside, might've been wondering if he could whittle his frame down to 170. Caio Borralho, the Fighting Nerd who fights next month in Paris against Nassourdine Imavov in what's expected to be a title eliminator, had to have been doing some hard math in his head a few seats down. Twelve takedowns + nearly 22 minutes of control time = total misery. How's that for incentive for an upcoming main event? The winner gets Khamzat! It can be said the world's toughest lamb will still struggle against the slaughterhouse, but, well, that's all for tomorrow … That's. All. For. Tomorrow. For Saturday night it was an arrival of a tyrant who's inviting anybody to stop him. Chimaev is daring the middleweight field to try their damndest to thwart his takedowns. He is telling all comers to prepare their silver linings, just as DDP had to. Did du Plessis have heart? Hell yes, he did. Did he have courage? No question. Did he have confidence in himself, that he could keep the fight in his world? That he could debunk the existence of a boogeyman for the world to see? Of course. Yet seeing fighters divested of their delusions is what UFC pay-per-views are all about. Against Chimaev you can't bring heart and courage as your intangibles. If you can't stop the takedown, it's going to be a hard night. Simple as that. Those who were disappointed in Saturday night's main event were upset that the drama couldn't hold up. In a dominant striking performance, somebody gets knocked out. In a dominant grappling fight, somebody usually taps. There's an abrupt end to whomever is being outclassed. In a hellacious wrestling display, like we witnessed at UFC 319, there's a sustained sense of helplessness. Of watching a man sink in quicksand over the course of 25 minutes, a visual that's not for everyone. DDP was smiling at the end of the first round, as he and his corner were keeping things as light as they could. He'd experienced what it's like to stand in there with Khamzat. And there was a realization in that smile, too, like he was coming to understand what was already apparent for most of us who were watching. As much as we wanted it to be the case, a competitive fight was not in the cards.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Michael ‘Venom' Page accepts Carlos Prates' Rio challenge: ‘You're not hitting me with that spinning elbow'
As one of the tougher stylistic matchups to prepare for, Michael 'Venom' Page is used to having trouble securing opponents. That wasn't the case after UFC 319, where he styled on Jared Cannonier and trolled him repeatedly en route to a unanimous decision win. Immediately after Page vs. Cannonier was Carlos Prates vs. Geoff Neal. That fight saw Prates knock Neal out with a massive spinning elbow … and then call out Page for a fight at UFC Rio on October 11th. Page has fought his last two fights at middleweight because no top welterweights wanted to fight, so he was excited at the prospect of returning to welterweight against the popular Prates. 'One hundred percent,' he said at the UFC 319 post-fight press conference when asked if he was interested. 'You're not hitting me with that spinning elbow, I'll tell you that now. That's a great fight, and those are the kind of fights I want. Those are the fights I'm courting on. If he's happy, I'm happy to put my hand up.' 'I would love to go to Brazil,' he continued. 'I've had fans in Brazil for many, many years. I remember being called the U.K. Anderson Silva, which is a massive compliment. I have a massive load of fans in Brazil and still haven't managed to get over there yet so I'd definitely love to be over there.' UFC Rio is just 8 weeks away, which made 'MVP' pause a moment. But he gave himself a quick self-assessment and seemed confident he could do it. 'I feel pretty good,' Page said. 'No real damage. Sore legs, slightly, but that's normal when people try to go for your legs. Nothing that won't be fine in a week. So that sounds very good for me.' Page was even down for the fight to be a special five round co-main. 'Yes, [5 rounds]. If it's a great fight, why not? Gives me more time to show my skills.' Will the UFC actually move on putting this fight together for UFC Rio? The event is a Fight Night and already has a big main event in Charles Oliveira vs. Rafael Fiziev. With the way UFC books events, we'd be shocked if they added another PPV-level fight to the card. Pleasantly shocked, but shocked none the less. At least Page has another bout in mind should the Prates bout not materialize: a fight with former champion and fellow Brit Leon Edwards. 'Leon, I want to see him in the U.K.,' Page said. 'If the UFC comes back in March, it'll be that.'
