Khamzat Chimaev

Chimaev controlled the opening frame with wrestling, but Strickland defended the next two takedown attempts and took top position in the second. The third and fourth rounds were contested on the feet, with Chimaev landing heavier individual shots and Strickland answering with greater output. Strickland edged the split decision, handing Chimaev the first professional loss of his career.

Key moments

• Chimaev controlled the opening frame with his wrestling.
• Strickland defended two takedown attempts and controlled Chimaev from top position in the second round.
• Strickland earned the split decision to reclaim the middleweight title.

Chimaev won the middleweight title by outlasting du Plessis across five rounds in Chicago.

Key moments

• Won the UFC Middleweight Championship.
• Handled a full five-round title fight to take a unanimous decision.
• Also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Chimaev ripped through Whittaker in one round, forcing the former champion into fast grappling exchanges before locking onto a brutal face crank. The finish made him impossible to deny as a middleweight title threat and earned another performance bonus.

Key moments

• Finished Whittaker in the opening round at UFC 308.
• The submission was officially recorded as a face crank.
• Collected a Performance of the Night bonus.

After the chaotic fight-week reshuffle at UFC 279, Chimaev made the replacement matchup look simple. He took Holland down immediately, climbed to the back and finished with a brabo choke in just over two minutes.

Key moments

• Contested at a 180-pound catchweight after the late card shuffle.
• Immediate takedown and top pressure from the opening seconds.
• Finished with a brabo choke at 2:13 of round one.
• Another first-round stoppage in the UFC.

Chimaev returned from the long COVID layoff and immediately looked like himself again, rag-dolling Li before forcing a first-round rear-naked choke.

Key moments

• Submitted Li Jingliang at 3:16 of round one at UFC 267.
• The finish earned Chimaev a Performance of the Night bonus.
• It was his first fight after the cancelled Leon Edwards booking sequence and the health layoff that followed.

Meerschaert was supposed to be a sturdier measuring stick, and Chimaev erased that idea in 17 seconds with one right hand. The knockout made the hype impossible to dismiss and gave him his third UFC win in just over two months.

Key moments

• Knocked out Gerald Meerschaert with a right hand at 0:17 of round one.
• The finish earned Chimaev another UFC Performance of the Night bonus.
• It was his third UFC victory in a span of 66 days.

Ten days after his debut, Chimaev took a second fight on Fight Island and bullied McKee from the opening takedown to the finishing barrage.

Key moments

• Stopped Rhys McKee by first-round TKO at 3:09.
• The bout came just 10 days after Chimaev's UFC debut against John Phillips.
• He collected a second straight Performance of the Night bonus.

Chimaev's UFC debut against Phillips was a one-sided demonstration of what his game looks like when he gets the first takedown. He dominated the grappling and positional battle until the D'arce choke arrived in round two, announcing himself with the kind of mauling performance the promotion notices immediately.

Key moments

• Submitted John Phillips with a D'arce choke at 1:12 of round two in his UFC debut.
• The performance earned Chimaev a Performance of the Night bonus.
• It was the opening step in the rapid three-fight UFC surge that made him a breakout name in 2020.

Magnor was Chimaev's second documented professional fight and the one that showed the finishing threat would not be limited to strikes.

Key moments

• Submitted Ole Magnor with a rear-naked choke at 4:23 of round one.
• The win came at Fight Club Rush 3 in Sweden.
• It gave Chimaev his first professional submission victory.