On Saturday, the MMA world saw unbeaten boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev achieve what many thought was an inevitability – become UFC champion at 185 pounds. Chimaev dominated, and defeated Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision 50-44 across the board in the main event of UFC 319 in Chicago.

Dana White announced that Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez on October 18, with the result of this matchup and the main event of UFC Paris next month being used to decide the next challenger. One of the four fighters in the running to challenge Chimaev has already started to have some thoughts about how he would prepare for such a task.

Newly-crowned middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, returned home to United Arab Emirates (UAE) following his Dricus du Plessis victory atop the UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Chicago.

The last UFC pay-per-view event of the summer produced a new champion and exciting opportunities for more fireworks to end 2025.